Welcome to Miami
by MistressSara
Summary: Lily Layfield receives a tip that the person she's been searching for is in Miami. Upon arrival she finds herself face to face with a former co-worker, an old friend and a past lover. R&R please.
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to Miami

Disclaimer and Note: I own nothing, the OC is mine however. Enjoy the story, just an idea I had. Plus, it's a little something to sustain myself considering that the season finale is coming up. Enjoy and please review.

Miami was a nice enough place, but the summer heat was strangling. Lily Layfield despised the weather, climbing off the airplane was like being slapped in the face. The private jet had been kept almost frigidly cold, much like the beer that had been stocked in the small kitchen on board. Lily sighed and pulled off her dress jacket. Despite being out of the business, she had kept fit. After all you never knew when you would have to chase someone down. The heat was getting to her fast and she found herself wishing that she had pulled her long brown hair up in a ponytail. In a city full of beaches and sun, Lily stuck out. She was pale, although she did have dark features that would be accentuated by a tan.

Lily had never been one for flying but she had the private jet all to herself. It had arrived at the small airstrip that was hidden in the outskirts of the small Canadian town she had been living in for the past 5 years. After things went wayward during a job in France Lily made a choice to get out of the spy business. Her handler had been a fairly decent guy; he set her up with a new ID and a comfortable apartment in Canada.

She hadn't even considered returning to the states until an older co-worker sent her a coded message she had never expected. The aforementioned co-worker, who would probably prefer to remain nameless, got a message to Lilly in a code that they had established long before. The one person that she had been searching for had finally surfaced, in Miami of all places. It was one phone called before a familiar voice was informing her that a plane would be arriving soon.

"Miss Layfield?" A woman dressed in black greeted her on the tarmac. "You're expected." Lily just nodded and watched as the woman picked up her light blue suitcase. "If you'll follow me please."

Lily let the woman lead the way, keeping a few steps behind. To the untrained eye it would appear that Lily was merely following her driver, looking around the small airport, fixing her shirt after a long plane ride. In actuality; she was maintaining a safe distance from someone she didn't know, checking the building for enemies and emergency exits, and double-checking the gun stored in the back of her jeans.

"Miss." The woman said, opening the door to a black Lincoln. Lily did one last scan of the area before sliding into the back seat.

"Lily."

"Lucy." The women smiled at each other before the door slammed shut. They waited as the driver loaded the suitcase into the trunk. "What's with all the cloak and dagger?"

"A new protocol of mine after a little incident last year. Plus, two ex-spies meeting in the open, does that sound like a good idea to you?"

"Good point." Lily nodded. "So, what do you have for me?"

Lucy opened her briefcase and pulled out a manila folder that seemed rather thin.

"This is all I've been able to get, but it didn't come from me, understand?"

"Yes, thanks Lucy."

"Glad I could help." Lily tucked the folder securely into her own bag. They chatted about random things for the rest of the ride. When the car pulled to a stop at Lily's hotel the two women said goodbye. Lucy considered asking if Lily wanted to grab some dinner but quickly thought better of it. She knew that the next couple of hours would be spent scrutinizing every piece of information in the folder.

Lily checked in, found her room, ordered a sandwich and a beer, and then waited impatiently for it to arrive. She knew that once she started to read she wouldn't be able to stop. With a sigh, she glanced at the clock… maybe just a peek. She opened the folder and began to skim the pages.

"Oh my God…" She muttered, her eyes fell upon a black and white surveillance photo of two people she knew far too well. A woman and…

"Room service."

"Fucking eh." She griped standing up from the bed.

For some reason she didn't think to look through the peephole before opening the door. Her tray of food had arrived, but it wasn't a hotel employee.

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked, moving back against the wall, carefully moving her arm behind her.

"Heard you were in town, thought I'd stop by for a chat. No need to reach for that gun." Her hand froze just as it brushed the handle sticking out of her jeans. Before she could ask how he knew, he answered. "Some things never change Lil. I really am just here to talk… well not **here**. We should talk somewhere else."

"Can I bring my lunch?"

"Sure, wrap it in that bag they put in the ice bucket, you can eat at my place." She eyed him closely for a moment before giving in and taking the tray from him. Before the door could swing shut he followed her into the room.

"So… how's Miami treating you?" She asked, turning to wrap up her lunch.

"Oh just delightful." He replied sarcastically, reaching for the open folder lying on the bed, the picture still resting on top. She turned, unnoticed by him.

"That's a good picture of you Michael."

"An even better shot of Carla. You ready?"

"Yeah." Michael closed the file and handed it back to her. With that, they left her hotel room and headed for his loft. Already things were not going as Lily planned. And she had absolutely no idea what was waiting for her.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, how'd you find me?" Lily asked, settling into the seat of the Charger.

"You're pale, tall and have your natural hair color. You stick out in Miami."

"Not a lot of tanning opportunities up North."

"Of all places you could've gone—"

"How'd you really find me?"

"Lucy gave me a heads up when she found out what you were coming here for. Seems that we're looking for information on the same woman."

"Carla."

"That's right… you look good Lil." Michael gave her a small smile, hoping to prolong the Carla-discussion until they got to his loft. "Let your hair grow out again."

She just nodded. Lily knew that Michael was trying to deflect from the subject at hand. It was easy for her to recognize this behavior; after all it was Michael who trained her. The first job she was ever assigned to put her in the field with the legendary Michael Westen. This was a claim that few could make, Michael rarely trained new comers but at the time he was helping out the agency she had just been recruited by.

When they were both working the two were friendly enough. If they happened to be in the same place at the same time, they would meet for a drink. And as far as they were both aware the other never took advantage of their friendship. Lily was recruited quickly; she was only 20 when she started. Her training began immediately and she was soon put in the field.

"This is where you live?" Lily asked, pushing her sunglasses to the top of her head as she climbed out of the Charger. "They really burned you Michael."

"Is there anyone who doesn't know that I was burned?"

"For all the finer qualities of spies, and we do have a few, we're a gossipy bunch." Michael laughed and led her up the metal stairs to the locked door.

"How the hell did you end up here?"

"Friend of a friend." He pushed the door open and moved aside to let her go in first.

"Nice… you know I've always thought that furniture was overrated."

"Does that wit translate in Canada?"

"How'd you—"

"Lucy. You're right, we used to run with a gossipy group."

"Well, at least we were interesting. So Michael, what's your interest in Carla?"

"It's more a matter of what's Carla's interest in me." Michael began to explain the run-ins of the past year. He was half way through when the door flew open, hitting the wall with a heavy slam, and a very angry Fiona stormed in.

"Michael you need to have a word with your friend before I shoot him… and you have a visitor." Her eyes shot to Lily who didn't seem startled by the loud entrance.

"Hi, you must be Fiona." Lily moved from her seat on the kitchen stool and offered her hand. "I've heard a lot about you. I'm Lily Layfield, I used to work with Michael."

Fiona's face softened and she shook the offered hand. The name was familiar, probably from the man standing next to the refrigerator, enjoying a yogurt.

"Fi, what were you saying when you came in?"

"If Sam eve thinks about taking a gun out of my hands again, I will kill him… and enjoy it."

"Sam?" Lily asked, slightly confused. It couldn't be… could it?

"Sam Axe, didn't you two work together before?"

"Yeah, but Sam died when we were in Russia. He went out one morning and then reports came back to us that someone fitting his description had been killed in…"

"Mikey, your girlfriend is insane. She was this close to shooting a cop." Sam paused, looking over the group. Fi had a devious expression while Mike was just shaking his head. "What? Who's your friend?" Lily turned around, giving him a well-practiced stare. "Lil! Uh, what're you doing here baby?"

"I think the bigger question is what are **you** doing here? Last I checked you were dead." Lily started to move closer."

"Baby, I can explain." Sam put his hands up in hopes of keeping her back, but it was no use. The words barely left his mouth before a fist made painful contact with the side of his face. "Well, at least you didn't use the hand with rings."

"We can try it again." Lily began to advance on him again but Michael quickly swooped in and held her back.

"Oh Michael, let her go. I was going to enjoy this." Fiona smiled at Sam who was still holding his hand to his face.

"You bastard! You let me think that you were dead, not to mention the fact that you left me freezing my ass off in Russia, waiting for some nonexistent contact.

"There was nothing I could do about it. If I could've come back for you I would've."

"And the last 10 years you just figured what? That I wouldn't care to know that you were alive?"

"How would I have gotten in touch with you? You spies disappear faster then booze at happy hour."

"Michael, how long did it take you to find me?"

"Oh no, I'm staying as far out of this as possible." Michael moved back next to Fiona.

"We can do the math ourselves. I've been in Miami for all of two hours now and the majority of that time has been spent here. Not to mention I was in the same place for the last 5 years, you couldn't have asked Lucy?"

"I didn't know you and Lucy were still in touch." Sam paused and looked beyond Lily, where Fiona and Michael were sitting. "We'll take this outside." Lily glared at him before rolling her eyes and shrugging.

"Fine, but you realize there are no witnesses outside?"

"I'm sure we'll manage." Lily went out the door.

"You okay Sam?" Michael called after him.

"Fine Mikey." With that, the heavy door was pulled shut.

"What was that all about?" Fiona asked, standing and going to the fridge.

"That was the May-December version of our relationship… minus the explosives."

"She dated Sam? Willingly?"

"I don't know how he gets these women—"

"She's what 20 years younger?"

"About I first met Lily when she was 20 and the next year she and Sam _met_." Fiona shuddered at the thought.

"Guess I'll have to get in line if I want to kill Sam."

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That's all for this chapter, thanks for the reviews. Next chapter should be up soon-ish.


	3. Chapter 3

Lily's high-heeled sandals were loud on the metal stairs. She sat down and waited for Sam to follow. He passed by her and began to pace at the foot of the stairs. It had been ten years since they had seen each other, let alone spoken. Neither knew where to begin. Lily watched him closely, her mind flickering back to what he looked like when they first met. She had just turned 20 and he was a week or two away from 40.

For the most part he looked the same. A little heavier than before, a bit of stubble on his chin, which scarcely covered the scar she knew was there. His once dark brown hair was now light with flecks of grey. His eyes were the same, sharp and capable of seeing right through her. Despite herself, she still found him handsome, even in his Hawaiian shirt and comfortable sandals.

"What are you doing here?" Sam finally asked.

"Lucy called, she said that Carla had surfaced."

"Oh man. You aren't involved with Carla are ya?"

"Not directly. I'm not even sure she knows who I am… we should go back in, I only want to have to tell this story once." She stood and started to turn away from him.

"Lily, wait." She paused and turned back to face him.

"What is it Sam?" Her voice was tight; he knew it was on the brink of cracking. He moved closer, climbing one of the stairs, fighting the instinct to take one of her hands.

"I'm… I'm sorry I never tried to find you. It's not that I didn't want to. You know that I would've if it had been an option at the time."

"Ten years… what does it matter at this point? I thought… never mind." She shrugged, despite the amount of time that had passed he could still recognize the melancholy expression she wore.

"No, what?" He moved closer, climbing the first step.

"Nothing… I was just naïve enough at the time to think that we had something special. But maybe it was a midlife crisis for you or something… my mistake." With a shrug she turned again and went upstairs.

"Lil…" She didn't turn back. With a sigh Sam followed her back to the loft. He would have to talk to her later about her insights on their relationship.

"You good?" Michael asked as the pair reentered.

"Fine." Lily replied shortly before retaking her seat at the kitchen counter. Sam just shrugged half-heartedly before going to the fridge for a beer. He wordlessly handed one to Lily without actually making eye contact. The tension was ignored by Lily and Sam, but extremely uncomfortable for Michael and Fiona.

"Lily, why don't you tell us how you know Carla?" Michael asked, hoping to side step the awkwardness for a moment. She just nodded and grabbed her purse and pulled out a worn folder. She placed it on the counter.

"This is everything I have on Carla from the past 9 years… back in '99 my sister Daisy…"

"Daisy and Lily?" Fiona asked, a little amused at the pair of sisters both being named for flowers.

"My parents had a sick sense of humor. Daisy always complained that I got the name that someone could live with…" Lily smiled briefly before focusing her eyes back to the folder in front of her. "My sister got caught up with Carla, I never found out the details… but after about a year Daisy was dead and Carla was no where to be found."

Sam looked as though he was going to say something before shoving his hands in his pockets and leaning against the counter beneath the window. No one said anything. Working in the business they were in at some point _Sorry for your loss_ becomes devoid of all meaning. It just becomes apart of the job. People die and there's nothing you can do to stop or reverse it. And there is very little comfort taken in the tepid condolences.

"I can probably guess your interest in her, Mike."

"My burn notice."

"D'you think we could do this later? I'm just really tired from the trip and the time change is…" Lily sighed and leaned forward, resting her head in her hands.

"Killer when you've stopped going from country to country at a moments notice." Michael finished for her. Lily just nodded. "I'll give you a ride back to the hotel."

"I'll do it Mikey." Sam offered. "You have a chat with Fi about pulling guns on cops."

"You okay with that?" Michael asked Lily.

"Well… I suppose the context in which the gun was pulled makes all the difference." Lily and Michael smiled at each other, "It's fine… I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah." They all stood in awkward silence for a moment before Sam closed the _Carla folder_ and handed it back to Lily. She returned it to her bag, never making eye contact with him.

Lily and Sam quietly left the loft, once again climbing down the metal staircase and walking towards the Caddy. Neither knew what to say, nor did they want to speak. Lily's earlier revelation about their relationship was still present in his mind. And her thoughts had turned back to the sheer shock that Sam was still alive. Without a word she stopped before he opened the car door and hugged him tightly. Without missing a beat, Sam wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

"I'm glad you're not dead." She whispered before letting him go and moving to the passenger side. Sam paused for a moment then got into the car himself. They drove in silence.

"Where're you staying?"

"I forget the name of it… blue and white awning?"

"You're lucky I frequent enough hotels to know which one you're talking about."

"Oh, I'm sure you visit a lot of hotels. You and your little buddy system."

"You know me too well, baby."

"Yeah, I'm incredibly aware of that."

"Hey… for what it's worth… I'm sorry about your sister." Lily just shrugged.

"Nothing can change it now. She and I were apart for so long, we were both working all the time…" She sighed and leaned back in the seat, closing her eyes. Sam took the chance to glance over at her.

She had changed over the years too. Some how becoming more beautiful, her face had matured making her look more like an adult… which she now was… actually she was then. Definitely more mature then he's ever been. Without thinking he reached over and laid his hand on top of hers. She quickly opened her eyes and looked over at him. The questioning expression caused him to pull away. He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Sorry."

"It's fine."

"You keep saying 'fine' but I'm doubting your sincerity."

"Maybe I'm just trying to convince myself."

"Is that it?" He pulled the car to a stop in the hotel's front parking lot.

"That's a loaded question."

"I've got the time." He killed the engine, provoking a raised eyebrow from her.

"Going some where?"

"I was gonna walk you to your room." She sighed, there was no way she would talk him out of the gesture.

"Fine."

"There's that word again." She just slammed the door and walked around the front of the car.

"If you're walking me to my room you better follow me." She called as she started across the parking lot.

"Good view following you baby." He replied locking the car and chasing after her. Both unaware of the black car that blended in so well that neither of them could've told you the model. Even more unaware of the person sitting behind the heavily tinted windows.

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Hey sorry about the wait, kind of lost my Fanfiction groove there for a little bit, but it's starting to come back. Hopefully I'll have another chapter up relatively soon. Thanks for reading, reviews are always welcome.


	4. Chapter 4

"So, how long have you been in Miami?" Lily asked as they got off the elevator at her floor and started down the hallway.

"About 5 or 6 years now. They forced me into retirement, make room for the younger guys coming in."

"You came here to work on your tan?" Lily laughed stopping at her door and digging through her bag for the key card.

"Despite what Mike might say, there are worse places to end up." Sam smirked, leaning against the wall. Lily finally found the key and was about to open the door when she noticed something.

Quietly she stepped back and gestured for Sam to look. The white frame around the door was freshly splintered, not enough to be obvious but enough to let them know that someone forced their way in.

Sam took the key from her and slowly opened the door. Lily moved her right hand to her back, hovering just above the handle of her gun. Despite their personal turmoil and the time that had passed, nothing seemed to bring them back into their old routine like possible danger. Suddenly it was 10 years earlier, Sam going in first, Lily following behind, ready to strike if necessary. Old habits and what have you.

Everything in the room was out of place. Her suitcase laid near the door, turned upside down, the contents strewn across the bed and the floor. Furniture was over turned, with the exception of a few lamps. The bed had been pulled apart; the mattress slightly off the frame, even the pillows had been pulled out of their cases.

"If I were you, I'd complain to the manager." Sam said, peering around the room.

"I'll get right on that." Lily carefully slid the closet door open while Sam checked the bathroom.

"Hey, they took your free shampoo."

"Bastards." Lily carefully lifted the desk lamp, sure enough there was a small bug attached to the underside. They looked at each other for a moment.

"Remember Moscow?" Sam asked, his tone was casual but his words were suggestive. Lily paused for a moment, thinking back to their time in Russia… the night her apartment was broken into… the decoy bug.

"Of course. Fun times in Moscow." The two started to look around the room, checking the less obvious places.

"Good Vodka."

"I always preferred a good beer."

"You're still my kind of girl."

Neither had found anything. Lily stood in the middle of the room looking around.

"Had that great bed in my old apartment." Sam looked up from the desk to see her gesturing to the other side of the off center bed.

"Oh yeah, great memories there. That brass headboard, I think you left your hand imprints in those bars." Lily reached behind the wooden headboard; with a smile she pulled her hand back.

"There was definitely some damage done." In her hand was a small bug, similar to the one they had found under the lamp. She pulled her gun from the back of her jeans and used the handle to smash the small device.

"Ya know you should probably stay some where nicer." Sam suggested, picking up the overturned suitcase and putting it on the bed.

"I think you might be right."

"Can I get that in writing?"

"Don't push it." Lily warned, picking up her clothes from the floor.

"This is a new addition to the wardrobe." Sam's tone dropped to suggestive. She turned to find him holding a dark blue bra. "This looks bigger than your bras used to be."

"Probably just diminishing eyesight; tends to come with old age." Sam just smirked as she grabbed for the article of clothing.

"I don't think so." He jerked back his hand, quick enough that she missed. With his free hand he caught her and held her arm. "Maybe I'm not that old."

"I suppose anything is possible." He pulled her closer, looking down. Even in her heels he was still a bit taller. "Sam?"

He couldn't quite make out her tone. It wasn't demanding that he let her go but it wasn't exactly… Sam couldn't help himself; he leaned down and kissed her. Softly at first, like a reacquainting handshake between their lips. When she didn't push him away he took it as a cue to deepen the connection. She returned the kiss, it was similar to their very first kiss; she was timid, letting him take the lead. Of course she was a little more forward then before. One of her hands went to the back of his neck, pulling him a little closer.

_Their first kiss resembled the moment they were sharing now. They had just spent two days locked in a hotel room together, watching a series of security monitors. Lily was still new to the job and hadn't expected such monotony, although Michael had compared being a spy to waiting in your dentist office._

_As soon as they finished at the hotel Sam offered her a ride back to her apartment. It was late and she just wanted to go home and sleep. The bitter cold was less than ideal for a long walk, so she accepted. On the drive to her building she dozed off and was a little out of it when they arrived, so he walked her to her door._

_The halls were dimly lit and the elevator out of service. So they walked the four flights of stairs. She started to unbutton her jacket and remove her hat and gloves as they walked._

_"This is one of the warmer buildings I've been in." Sam observed._

_"Some higher up American agents live upstairs, so our heat is always working." She replied, stifling a yawn. "You didn't have to walk me to my door."_

_"Sure I did. Otherwise you'd still be downstairs waiting for the elevator."_

_"I would've gotten some more sleep before hand if I knew that we were going to be watching camera feeds for two hours straight."_

_"A rookie mistake that's only made once." Lily just nodded and she pulled her keys from her coat pocket. _

_"Uh… did you want to come in? I've got… water." She offered unlocking the door and pushing it opened._

_"Yeah, sure… I could go for water." She nodded again and moved to let him follow her in. A light on a table in the living room was already on and the apartment was toasty._

_"I'll just go…" She gestured towards the small kitchenette as she pulled off her jacket._

_"Lily, I didn't come in for water." Sam's tone was smooth as he moved closer towards her._

_"You didn't?"_

_"No." He was about a step away from her now, she was between him and the refrigerator. _

_"Well… okay then." He closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around her waist. Within a second his lips were pressed against hers. The moment didn't last too long and they slowly parted, her arms rested comfortably on his shoulders._

_"I'll see you tomorrow baby. Get some sleep." He gave her another kiss before walking to the door. Tomorrow she would lecture him on how degrading it was to call a woman "baby." Of course… coming from him… it just sounded right. The door closed behind him with a sharp _

**CLICK**

The sound from her memory seemed to bring her back to her senses. His hands moved to hold her, dropping her wrist and her bra. Lily could feel herself beginning to slip, it felt exactly like it had that first night. She had to stop this now. Her hands moved to Sam's shoulders and gave them a push so that she could disengage.

"No Sam." She moved away from him, there needed to be something between them. Some piece of furniture or something… "We aren't going to… No."

He watched as she started picking her stuff up off the floor, careful to hide his confusion at the events that had just transpired between them.

"Lil…" he moved towards her, she took another step back.

"No. No, I can't deal with this. I can't do this again." Lily began packing away her things again. "You'd think after 10 year I'd have built up some kind of tolerance to…"

"To my charms?" Sam ventured cautiously, handing her the last dress that had been thrown between the nightstand and the bed.

"If I remember correctly, your charms didn't work on me until after we spent two days locked in a room together doing surveillance."

"Yeah, but how do you explain the two years that followed?"

"Hmm… youthful indiscretion? How do you explain it?" Lily replied zipping up her bag and turning towards him. Sam was speechless, they weren't seriously going to have this conversation in the middle of her torn apart hotel room. "We should go."

"Okay." Denial and avoidance seemed to be a working factor in their relationship. He took the bag from her, without a word about it, and moved for the door. Lily looked around for a moment, making sure that she hadn't forgotten anything. "Lil?"

"Yeah, coming."

"Keep your gun handy." Sam said, looking into the hallway again. He glanced in both directions before walking out.

They left the room and made their way back to the elevator. The walk back to the car was a quiet one. Both were distracted; Sam was focusing on looking around for anything that might be suspicious. Lilly was doing the same while trying to figure out if there was something she might've missed in the room, some hint that would give away who had been in her room. Neither spoke again until a few minutes later when they were sitting in traffic.

"We've got a friend." Sam said, glancing in the rear view mirror as he reached for his cell phone.

"Yeah Sam?" Michael answered.

"Hey Mikey. Lily's room at the hotel was torn apart and we've got a tail on us now."

"Need any help?"

"Nah I can loose him… hold on a second." Sam handed the phone to Lily so that he could make a sharp turn.

"Michael?"

"Yeah, you guys okay?"

"Sam's driving." Lily replied, grabbing hold of the armrest as he made another turn.

"I think I lost him." Sam said, looking back, sure enough the black car was gone. He took the phone back from Lily and continued to drive at a normal speed.

"Where are you taking her?"

"We'll just go to my place." Lily almost threw out her neck turning to look at him.

"Excuse me?"

"Is that a good idea Sam?" Michael asked.

"She could always stay with you. How do you think Fi would react to a pretty brunette staying in your one bed loft?"

Michael paused and glanced across the room where Fiona was lying on his bed, "Good luck. Let me know if you two need anything."

"We're going to your place?" Lily asked after he hung up the phone.

"It's not that bad, I have a girl who comes to clean every couple of weeks."

"How many beds?"

"Just the one, but a really comfortable couch." She raised an eyebrow. "Which I will be enjoying."

"I feel like I've sighed more today than I have in years." Lily said, leaning back against the headrest and closing her eyes.

"I bring that out in people." Sam laughed. The drive back to his apartment building was going to be a quiet one. He was a little worried that the glimpse of anger he had seen in her at Michael's would finally break through once they were behind closed doors…

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Okay, so there we go. I'll try and get another one up soon. Thanks for the reviews, always appreciated and remember Season 3 starts on June 4th! Behold the excitement!


	5. Chapter 5

"Well, this is it." Sam said, holding the door to his apartment open for Lily.

"Wow… Sam, this is… nice."

"Don't sound so surprised." He replied, closing the door and flipping the light switch. The apartment really was nice, as it should be considering that Veronica had decorated it. After they broke up Sam had a lapse in sugar mamas and just switched the lease into his name. Years of living off divorcées and FBI paid lunches had made it easy for Sam to save up.

The living room was nice, decorated in browns and greens. There was comfortable looking recliner facing the television and a brown leather couch. Lily wandered further into the room, looking at the magazines on the coffee table, noticing the newspaper that he had left open from that morning. She paused for a moment; thinking about the morning, neither of them could have imagined that the day would turn out like this.

"I put your suitcase in the bedroom." Sam said, returning to room. "Want something to drink?"

"Yes please." She replied, sitting down on the couch.

"Make yourself comfortable, baby." He called from the kitchen.

"Just need to get over my shock first." She muttered, still looking around the room. There were no pictures around, nothing indicating what his life had been like over the years they were away from each other. Although knowing Sam the way she did, she could guess. A lot of beer and probably a lot more women, she wasn't as naïve as she was at 20.

"Lil." She looked up to see the man in question holding out a cold bottle.

"Thanks." Silence was never really a problem for them. But at this moment it just felt uncomfortable. Lily finished her beer in three long drinks, while Sam took small sips and focused on not staring.

"Hungry? I could make us some dinner." He offered suddenly.

"You cook?" Sam laughed and stood up.

"Oh Lil, you'd be surprised by the talents I never shared with you." This provoked a laugh from her.

"Sam there's very little you could do to surprise me."

"I am going to make you enchiladas that are so incredible your clothes will fall off." He stood up and went towards the kitchen.

"One problem with that Sammy." She said following him into the kitchen. That caught his attention. It had been years since anyone had called him that… mainly because she was the only person he'd let call him that.

"Oh?"

"I hate Mexican food."

"Since when?"

"Since I spent a year and a half living in Mexico for work." She said, leaning against the wall.

"Do you still like pasta?" He ventured.

"Yes."

"Okay, that's something. Not as incredible as my enchiladas but I might be able to get your jeans off."

"None of my clothes are coming off Sam." Lily smiled and moved to a stool at the counter. "Try as you might."

She watched quietly as he moved around the kitchen, humming to himself. It reminded her of something but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She couldn't remember specifically if he had cooked for her before but… there was a small memory of him in the kitchen…

_"Lily you've got to have something to eat in here." Sam said closing another cabinet._

_"I assure you there is nothing. I haven't had a chance to get groceries all this week and my first evening of free time has been spent with you. Remember?" Her tone became sharp. "I asked if you wanted to get something to eat and you made a funny little comment and then we went to the bedroom—"_

_"Gosh, I'd forgotten already. Maybe we should head back there, refresh my memory." Sam said, moving away from the fridge and back towards where she was perched on the counter._

_"Oh no, you were the one who wanted to eat."_

_"Yeah, but without food that becomes difficult." He replied, standing between her legs. The counter was low enough that it brought them face-to-face._

_"We could always go out." Sam took this moment to pull her into a kiss. "Or we could just order something in."_

_Sam pulled back with a smile and started towards the drawer where she kept the number of a nearby restaurant that would deliver food. Normally he would've been happy to go out, but Russian winters were starting to take a toll on him. Plus nothing could beat staying in with Lily. Just as she was climbing off the counter he replied,_

_"Domestic goddess you are not, but I love you anyways Lil." This was going to be a deciding moment in their relationship. The comment was either going to be acknowledged or ignored._

_"What?" She lost her balance and landed on the floor with a tremendous __**thud**__._

"Whoops." Lily looked up to see Sam picking up a pot he had knocked to the tile floor. "You okay? Seemed like you were in a daze there or something."

"I guess I was." She shook her head and smiled. "Need any help?"

"Want to make the salad?"

"You've got salad fixings?" She had the same surprised tone as when she first entered his apartment.

"Why do you think I live like some kind of animal?"

"Because I know you Sam Axe." It sounded like a threatening reminder more than a passive statement. He was still amused, she wore that sweet, innocent smile that he knew too well. It was the second time that day it had felt like the years apart had disappeared. Sam allowed himself a moment to wonder if this was what they would've been like if he didn't have to leave Russia the way he did. If they had… nah, Sam forced the thought to leave his mind.

"That's a two way street Miss Layfield." He said moving out of the way so she could open the fridge.

"Don't call me that, you know I hate that. It makes me sound like a Bond girl." She replied pulling out a head of lettuce and going to the sink.

"You would make a great Bond girl." Sam paused, leaning against the stove. "Knee high boots… find you one of those cute little guns they always give to the girl characters."

"That is a dream world you're building, baby." When he didn't say anything else she turned. He was still looking at her, lost in his own thoughts. "Your water's boiling over." She said casually.

"Huh?" Sam looked down at the stove to see the hot water boiling over the sides of the pot. He hurried to turn the range down, almost positive that he could Lily laughing.

The rest of the meal was made without incident or reminiscing. They ate quietly, making small comments about random things like the weather or life outside of the government. After the dishes were cleaned and put away Lily disappeared to the bedroom, she was tired after the day spent traveling and dealing with the realization that Sam was still alive.

"Damn it." She muttered, digging through her suitcase. Apparently she managed to forget something at the hotel. "Hey Sam!"

"Yeah?" He asked coming into the room.

"Could I borrow something to sleep in? I think I left my pajamas at the hotel."

"Oh, sure. D'you just want a t-shirt?" He asked headed for the chest of drawers that was pushed against the wall nearest the door.

"Yeah, that's fine."

"Here ya go." He offered her a plain grey t-shirt that would fit loosely on her. "I'm just going to grab some stuff and I'll let you get to it."

"Thanks." She smiled before going into the bathroom and getting changed. Sam froze when she returned, wearing his t-shirt, her long legs completely bare. He had fond memories of those legs…

"Sammy?" He looked up and realized that she was watching him.

"Right. Sorry, night." He said, quickly leaving the room. She just shook her head, flattered that she still had some effect on him. Climbing into bed she turned off the light and got settled. With a deep inhale she discovered that she was surrounded by his scent. His aftershave and cologne was the same as always. She could smell it on the sheets and the shirts.

"Great cause it wasn't bad enough I had those dreams when I thought about him… now I'm completely surrounded." With another sigh she closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep.

It wasn't until a few hours later that Sam stumbled into bedroom, headed for the bathroom. He caught a glance at Lily who was fast asleep, on her stomach like always. She was in the same position that morning he left…

_Sam had never been so quiet in all his life. Carefully getting ready while trying not to wake up Lily. This was going to be so much easier if she just stayed asleep. Glancing in the bathroom mirror, he flinched momentarily at the small flecks of grey that were starting to appear. This relocation couldn't have come at a better time, Lily wouldn't want to be involved with an older guy much longer. _

_Returning to the bedroom he found that she had shifted into the empty space he left, probably looking to get warmer. He paused to watch her, she was a sound sleeper to be sure. The sight was almost ideal for a spy film; her long dark hair was brushed completely to one side, she was asleep on her stomach so her bare back was completely exposed. Of all the women he had met during his years of work, he knew that Lily was going to be the one he remembered most._

_He gently sat down on the edge of the bed and stroked her hair softly before leaning down to press a kiss against the side of her head. The motion caused her to stir, but he couldn't resist._

_"Sammy?" She mumbled, opening her eyes slightly. "What're you doing up?"_

_"I have to go meet a contact… I'll grab some breakfast and meet you over at headquarters?" He cringed inwardly at the lie._

_"Okay… I'd rather you get back into bed with me."_

_"I'd like that too baby, but I have to go."_

_"I'll see you later." She said, closing her eyes again._

_"Yep…" He hesitated. "I love you."_

_"I love you too Sam. Be careful." The last thing she heard before drifting to sleep again was the sound of the door closing behind him. A few hours later she was at the office, waiting rather impatiently for Sam to get there. It had been almost four hours, meetings with contacts rarely took that long._

_It was a few minutes later that reports starting coming in that someone fitting Sam's description had been found dead. Lily's legs almost gave out when they told her. One of their supervisors that knew that she and Sam were involved took her into his office and let her break down there. Lily wasn't one for crying, she knew that in this business and in life it did nothing to help. No amount of tears could bring someone back, nothing could change the situation. She kept reminding herself that Sam chose this life too and that he knew the risks. But that wasn't helpful. Didn't soothe her mind, which had started imagining all the different that Sam might've been… she tried to fight the thoughts._

_Then the door opened, there were photos. They were blurry and the face of the man in them had been beaten beyond recognition. Lily scolded herself mentally for not paying attention to what he was wearing that morning. _

This was the climax of her nightmare, all she could see were those pictures. With a small scream she woke up, shaking uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face. The unfamiliar settings only served to upset her further. She began to hyperventilate. Within a second the bathroom door opened and Sam appeared.

"Lil?" He moved to the bed and turned on the light.

"Sam." She managed between shaky breaths before throwing herself into his arms.

"What's wrong?"

"I keep seeing those pictures… they had decoys from when…" She was getting worked up again and just held him closer. He knew what she was talking about, he had tried to convince them to ignore the normal protocol and forgo the decoy pictures. If there was nothing else he could do about the situation, he could spare Lily those images but they wouldn't listen.

She pulled back suddenly and unabashedly kissed him. He was caught off guard by the force, it was a departure from the shy, naïve girl he had met so long ago. Despite every instinct in his body Sam pulled away from the embrace.

"We need to discuss something before there's any more of that." He said firmly.

"What?"

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Okay, longer chapter than usual. I'll try to get working on the next one soon. Thanks for all the reviews, I'm so glad people dig it!!


	6. Chapter 6

"What?" As quickly as Lily had kissed him, she reached over and punched his upper arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For the general insanity you bring out in me." She replied, wiping the tears away from her face.

"You said something earlier today about… about what our relationship was." Sam was struggling with words, covert ops were nothing compared to having a conversation about relationships, especially one that ended 10 years ago.

"Sam…" her tone was exasperated, from the sound of it she wasn't too excited to have the conversation either. He had forgotten how much a like they were, she hated getting into the linguistics of what was going on between them as much as he did. But right now it was a different situation.

"No no, before any more kissing or anything else happens we need to discuss what you said today." He moved further back towards the end of the bed. "I was never with you because of a midlife crisis."

"Then what was it? Was I just some fleeting distraction?" Her tone was hurt and he was having a hard time making eye contact. "A warm body for the Russian nights?"

"Lil you know that isn't true, you're probably the only other woman I've actually loved…" He paused; probably better to not get into the other women who have been in his life.

"You're the only man I love…" She stopped herself, realizing that she used present tense.

"I didn't want to leave. Those years with you were good… really good. Some of the best. I didn't ask to get pulled out of there and I certainly didn't want you to think I was dead. But, I figured once I was gone you'd find someone your own age…"

"I didn't want someone my own age, still don't. I hate people my own age, I hated them when I was teenager and in my twenties."

"Which is how you ended up with someone 20 years older."

"I thought it was an appropriate solution."

"I didn't have any complaints." Sam smiled; she quietly moved her hand to cover his. Glancing down he noticed something. "You still have that?"

"Course I do." She smiled. "Sam we never discussed our…"

"Shh…" He whispered suddenly, "D'you hear that?" There was a sound coming from the living room. While he went for the nightstand, she reached under the unused pillow. Both pulled out their respective guns before moving carefully towards the door. Like earlier that day Sam went first, creeping into the still dark living room. He could just barely make out the shape of a man, standing with his back to the bedroom door.

Lily quietly followed Sam, when he nodded she reached for the light switch. The room was suddenly bathed in light, startling the uninvited man. He turned quickly only to be met with the sight of two drawn guns.

"Looking for something?" Sam asked, taking the offered gun from the man. His eyes flickered towards Lily before looking back. "Oh I see. Looking for someone?"

"Is there anyone else?" Lily asked, taking the man's gun away from Sam and holding it in her free hand.

He didn't answer or even look at her. Sam grabbed him the shoulders and pushed him into a nearby chair.

"I believe the lady asked you a question."

Still he didn't say anything.

"You know," Lily began as she moved to peak into the kitchen then on towards the front door, "if you don't answer me there's no telling what Sam will do to you. He just gets so crazy when people are mean to me." She said with a well-practiced, deranged giggle. With a quick motion she opened the door and checked the hallway, there was no one out there.

"I do get a little crazy." Sam added, cocking the trigger of his gun. "Can ya blame me? Look at that face, she's just so adorable. I hate it when people don't answer her."

"You really think you could scare me?" He finally said, there was a small trace of accent.

"Positive of it, actually." Lily answered, leaning against the arm of the couch and running a finger across her gun.

"Either you start answering questions or you start loosing blood." Sam warned. "Who sent you?"

"I would think that obvious." His accent was broken and thicker the more he said. Lily glanced at Sam, he could hear it too, Russian.

"I could see where you might think that but there are a lot of people who want to kill us, especially him." Lily gestured towards Sam.

"That's true, you'd be surprised… mostly women." Lily moved towards the man and grabbed a handful of his hair, jerking his head back.

"Enough games, who sent you?" She asked in a strong tone.

"An old friend." Before anything else could be said the sound of glass breaking filled the room and the man was dead. Sam grabbed Lily, pulling her to the floor behind the couch.

"What the hell was that?" She asked, shaking from the surprise.

"I guess he did have a friend… or someone else with him at least."

"What now?" Sam paused and looked around; he was close enough to reach one of the coffee tables where the phone rested. Lily looked up and spotted it too, she was close enough and reached up and grabbed it. Just as she did another bullet broke the quiet of the apartment.

"Fuck! Here." She threw him the phone, the bullet just barely missed her, grazing the back of her hand.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Just…" She gestured with her other hand to the phone and looked for something to press against the cut on her hand.

"Sam, it's late." Michael's voice answered.

"Well tell that to the guy who broke into my apartment or the guy shooting at us from across the street." Another bullet flew overhead.

"We'll be there in five. You both okay?"

"Lily got grazed but nothing serious. They shot the guy who broke in here. Should find him in the building directly across 14 floors up, they'd have to be one floor higher to see through my windows."

"Okay. On the way." With that both men hung up.

"Come over here, we can get to the bedroom, this part of the couch and over can't be seen from the window."

"Did you seriously figure all of these things out when you moved in here?"

"Course I did. Aren't you glad?" He asked as they crouched down and moved quickly across the room, stopping in the small hallway.

"Thrilled beyond words."

"Did you close the blinds in the bedroom?"

"Yeah." Safely in the bedroom Sam disappeared into the bathroom while Lily pulled on a pair of jeans, this was not the sort of activity to be engaging in without pants or barefoot. She'd done enough jobs in her life to know that. Sam reappeared with a roll of gauze and a small bottle of disinfectant.

"Need to clean that up." He said, sitting down on the bed and waiting for her to join him. She just nodded and sat down next to him. "This is going to sting." She just shrugged.

"Barely got me." She said passively.

"Yet you're bleeding." He remarked, cleaning the wound. It wasn't a large gash, but it stung like hell and was hiding beneath a coat of blood. Sam carefully brushed away the red so that he could get a better idea of what he was dealing with.

"See, just a scratch."

"From a bullet. You spies act so casual about being shot."

"Grazed." She corrected as he reached for the roll of gauze and began to wrap it around her hand.

"You got blood on your ring." He observed, tying off the bandage.

"I know. I'll clean it up later."

"Sam?" A voice called out from the other room. The two got up off the bed and headed for the living room. Fi was standing at the open door, her own gun poised at her side. "Michael's on his way over, looks like who ever was shooting at you is gone already."

"Well, just incase." Sam carefully moved to the window and closed the blinds. Fi, glanced down the hallway, waiting for Michael to appear. Meanwhile Lily made her way to the body in the chair and began to search his pockets. Hoping to find something that might let them know who he was sent by.

"Thought you were just going to have a quiet evening in." Michael commented, closing the door behind him and Fi.

"Like Sam and I ever did anything quietly." Lily scoffed, pulling a wallet and a scrap of paper from the jacket of the man.

"What's that?" Michael asked, ignoring the comment Lily had just made and pointing to the piece of paper in her hand.

"Instructions to kill me and Sam's address. Written in Russian."

"This might not have anything to do with Carla." Fi observed.

"There are enough retired guys from Russia running the mob in Miami." Sam commented. "Could be some of our old acquaintances, maybe heard you were in town from some of Lucy's people."

"Until we figure this out we'll have to find some where for you two to stay. This whole thing could be Carla getting ready to go on another "threaten and kill my friends and family" sprees if she has a new job for me." Michael pulled out his phone while he was talking.

"I'll go get my bag again." Lily sighed, heading for the bedroom, still looking through the wallet in her hands. Even from the other room she could hear Michael on the phone.

"Hi mom…" His pleasant tone was forced. "Yeah I know it's early… Well, I know I haven't stopped by at all this week… Oh you'll see me in about 15 minutes?"

Lily looked up when Sam entered the bedroom, probably to get his own bag together. If this was the mob she would need his help, if it was Carla going after loved ones he was going to provide security for Michael's mom. Either way they were going to be thrown together in another random location. This was not the kind of trip she planned for.

"Yeah mom… Sam and a friend need a place to stay…"

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Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry that it took me so long to get this up. I got to a point and was like "crap, what now?" Hopefully I won't have such a delay. Keep the reviews coming, I do love them.

Just want to clear up when the story is taking place in the whole Burn Notice 'verse. This is set somewhere after the beginning of Season 2, before the end of the season events (won't go into details for those who haven't gotten there yet).


	7. Chapter 7

"Hi mom." Michael greeted his rather upset mother when they arrived at her house. It had taken a little longer to get there because they wanted to be extra careful of being followed.

"Michael, do you know what time it is?" Madeline asked as she lit a cigarette.

"I wouldn't have called if this wasn't an emergency." He replied in his usual calming tone.

"An emergency?" She asked skeptically, knowing that he wasn't going to give her a straight answer.

"An old friend showed up and…" Michael paused; there was no lie he could come up with that would qualify as an emergency so the truth would have to suffice.

"Does this have anything to do with the people who came after you before?"

"It might. Just to be safe I want Sam here with you… and Lily."

"Who is Lily?"

"That would be me, hi Mrs. Westen." Lily mustered a smile as she entered the house through the kitchen door, Sam following behind her. Fi had dropped them two blocks away and they had walked through the dark and used the side entrance to avoid being seen by any tail that might've managed to stick with them. "Nice to finally meet you."

"I'd say the same dear, but I've never heard of you before." Madeline returned the smile. She could tell that this young woman was tired and knowing the people that Michael usually stashed at her house, was probably in some kind of trouble. "How do you fit into this whole thing?"

"I used to work with Sam and Michael was the one who first trained me." She didn't elaborate beyond that, not knowing what all Madeline did and did not know.

"Well come in. I put the guest room together for you." Madeline put an arm around her and led her towards the hallway.

"Anything Sam?" Michael asked as soon as the two had left the room.

"Nothing, Fi was doing another check around the perimeter just incase." Sam locked the back door and picked up his bag. "What d'you make of all this Mikey?"

"Hard to say. You both have a lot of enemies from the old days… Lily said that Carla doesn't know her, but Carla seems to know everything."

"Either way this could get unpleasant." Sam said, outside they could see Fi pull to a stop.

"Fi and I will be back tomorrow. If this is Carla I'm sure I'll be hearing from her soon."

"Night Mike."

"Night, be careful." Sam nodded and locked the door behind him.

"Did Michael leave already?" Madeline asked coming down the stairs.

"Yeah they had to get going. Lily okay?"

"She's fine. Seems like a sweet girl, you two used to work together?"

"A while ago… she is something else." She caught Sam's smile before it disappeared again.

"She's up in the guest room, I put you in Michael's old room… right next door." Madeline quirked an eyebrow before setting off for an ashtray to put out her cigarette.

"Thanks Madeline."

"Night Sam."

"Night." Sam did one more check around the house before heading upstairs, Madeline's door was closed but Lily's was still open a crack, letting the light stream out into the hallway. He moved closer and knocked, "Lil?"

"Yeah?"

"Hey, I was just headed for bed… you okay?" He came into the room, finding her stretched out across the bed, still dressed in jeans and his t-shirt. "Kind of a busy night."

"Far from the first. Just got out of practice." She sat up and moved over he could sit next to her. The cue wasn't lost on him; Sam set down his bag and closed the door before taking the spot next to her. "I thought I was done with all this crap."

"Preaching to the choir baby. I thought that when I retired I would do nothing but lie by the pool and drink Mojitos… I only do that about half the time." Lily laughed.

"I go to a lot of hockey games, too cold for pools. But there's always beer around." Lily smiled at him before reaching out and touching his face. "Is it weird that I missed your scar?" Her index finger moved across his chin, tracing the length of the scar.

"Not that weird." He took her hand and glanced down at it. "How's your _scratch_?"

"There." She shrugged. "I'm tired."

"You should be."

"D'you think… could you just stay here until I fall asleep?"

"Sure." She rolled over and turned off the light before turning back to face him.

"The first couple of weeks after you were… _gone_. I couldn't sleep." She confided quietly. "Where did they send you?"

"A few places I was told never to mention, then back to Washington. Eventually I ended up Tokyo."

"Cause you blend right in there." She mumbled with a sleepy smile, her eyes drifting close.

"I served my purpose." He said with a light chuckle.

"Guess you could say the same about me." With a sigh bordering on annoyance Sam pulled her close so that her head rested on his shoulder.

"You were a lot more then that baby."

"Mmm, good to know." She managed before falling asleep, Sam stayed with her all night.

The next morning she woke up alone. Although she could tell that Sam had been there up until recently. The pillow next to her had been used and before leaving he wrapped her up in the comforter. Slowly she climbed out of bed and got changed before going in search of the bathroom. There were voices echoing from the living room downstairs, but for the moment she ignored them.

She quietly closed the bathroom door and peered at herself in the mirror.

"Looking a little rough Lily." She muttered to her reflection. Her eyes were still tired and the make-up she had applied the day before had long since been rubbed away. The cold water felt good against her face, refreshing. However, it soaked the bandage on her hand, she would have to get Sam to rewrap it. After finishing up she made her way downstairs, the voices became clearer as she moved closer.

"Sam is there anyone in particular here in Miami that has it out for you?" Michael asked. Lily could tell from the tone of his voice that this question was breaking a string of inane conversation and probably argument.

"Anyone who's ever met him." Fiona supplied.

"There are a few guys from the old days that I've been aware of." Sam said, choosing to ignore Fi's comment. "They haven't made any moves so far, but if they found out that Lily's in town it could've forced them into action."

Coming down the stairs the rest of the way she was met by Madeline, who was on her way up. She just smiled at Lily briefly before pointing towards the living room where Michael, Fiona and Sam were seated. Lily just nodded and continued on her way. Edging quietly into the room. Sam noticed her first.

"Hey, morning." He greeted, causing Michael and Fi to turn.

"Morning." She nodded before taking an open chair. "Nothing from Carla?"

"Not yet." Michael answered. "We're trying to figure out if maybe an old acquaintance might be trying to look you two up."

"Who all is here?" Lily asked Sam.

"Andrick."

"I thought I shot him."

"You did. He might not be thrilled to see you."

"Can't win 'em all." Lily shrugged.

"Dimitri, Mikhail, Dima…"

"Dima? She's in Miami and you're still alive?"

"Wonders never cease."

"Another woman scorned?" Fi asked.

"Not exactly." Lily tilted her head and looked towards Sam.

"I may have shot her brother."

"May have?" Lily scoffed. "You put four bullets in the guy."

"A guy who was about to shoot you."

"D'you think this Dima would come after you?" Michael asked, interrupting the two.

"If she knew I was here and thought that it would hurt Sam, she definitely would."

"Sam, do you have any sources within that circle?"

"Yeah. It's just gonna be a matter of tracking him down."

"Why don't you take Fi and Lily, I'm going to stay here with my mom incase this is related to Carla." Fiona glared at Michael as the words left his mouth.

"Michael, may I have a word?" She asked, her voice tight.

"Uh… yeah. We'll be right back." Sam just nodded as they got up and left the room.

"What does that remind you of?" Sam laughed, turning his focus back towards Lily.

"A lot of conversations we've had." She smiled briefly. "Thanks for staying last night."

"Wasn't a problem, Lil."

"I woke up at one point and convinced myself I was dreaming." Her laugh was small and forced.

"I want to wrap this up quickly." Fi announced returning to the room, Michael following her and holding his arm.

"Great." Sam stood, "We can take my car." Pretending that he wasn't going to mind spending the next couple of hours in an enclosed space with Lily and Fiona. He could only hope that they would be able to his contact quickly… really quickly.

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That's all for this chapter. I was hoping to have it up a little sooner but I was still reeling from Comic-Con last weekend. Front row for Burn Notice baby! I was like 2 feet away from Bruce Campbell! It was all kinds of awesome. Much like the reviews I've been getting for this story. Love the reviews and am glad that so many people are digging this story. Hopefully I'll have another chapter up soon!


	8. Chapter 8

The drive was quiet for the most part. And long. It felt very long. Lily was in the front seat with Sam, while Fi was in the middle of the backseat, reloading her gun. Lily meanwhile was trying to fix her bandage, she had forgotten about rewrapping it and now the wet gauze was making her hand uncomfortable.

"There's a roll of gauze in the glove box." Sam said, noticing her fidgeting.

"Of course there is." She mumbled, opening the compartment. "So, who's your Russian contact?" Lily asked as she unwrapped the ruined bandage.

"Pepik Klopov." Sam smirked as Lily broke out in laughter.

"Peppy?" She giggled.

"Who is _Peppy_?" Fi asked from the backseat. Lily managed to stop laughing long enough to explain.

"He was an informant back in Russia. Cheesier than Sam if you can imagine that."

"Hey! I'm not cheesy, I'm smooth." Sam interjected. Fi and Lily both rolled their eyes. "They never found out that Peppy was helping the US, so he was able to stay in the loop over the years."

"I haven't seen him in years." Lily mused, wrapping the clean bandage around her hand.

"Same as he ever was. Probably still has that crush on you."

"He never." She scoffed, having trouble securing the wrap.

"Are we talking about the same person? Peppy was head over heals for you. What did he used to call you?"

"Kelly." Lily sighed in embarrassment.

"Why on earth would he call you that?" Fi asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Because," Sam began with a Russian accent, "with that face you look just like Charlie's angel." He pulled to a stop outside of a small strip mall. One of the storefronts had dark curtains and signs written in Russian. "Tea room. I'm gonna run in and see if I can track down our man. You girls play nice."

"Oh, I'm sure we'll find something to talk about." Fi smirked. Sam just shook his head and got out of the car.

"You two know each other long?" Lily asked, still futzing with her hand.

"A couple of years now… here, let me help you with that." Fi took her hand and fixed the wrapping. "Beautiful ring."

"Oh, thanks. Took me a little while to get it cleaned up, blood can be so tricky to remove."

"Don't I know it. So you and Sam used to be a thing?"

"Yeah."

"Had you suffered a major blow to the head?"

"No." Lily laughed.

"Does he know about this?" Fi asked gesturing to the ring.

"Well—"

"He wasn't in there." Sam said, climbing back into the car. "But I was told that he has a meeting at a bar down town in an hour."

"Great." Lily said, pulling her hand back from Fi, "Thanks for fixing this."

"No problem."

"You ladies find something to discuss?"

"Yeah, blood removal techniques." Lily smiled briefly.

"Then you exchanged recipes?"

"I make a mean enchilada." Fi offered.

"I can handle beef stroganoff." Sam snorted. "Excuse me, I never heard any complaints from you."

"Because you were armed." Lily punched his arm. "Ow! Be careful, I'm an old man."

"No one's more aware of that then me." She smiled sweetly. The drove a while in silence, no one saying anything. That is until Fi broke out laughing.

"What?" Sam asked, glancing in the rearview mirror.

"I was just doing the math in my head… you two have almost the same age difference as my father and I." She continued to laugh, Lily began to chuckle as well.

"I don't know what you're laughing about, I got the better end of the deal." Sam commented as he pulled into a parking spot across the street from a seedy bar.

"Oh, I think I did all right."

"There's our boy, early as always." Sam shifted the car into park. "I'm gonna head in, if I'm not back in 10—"

"Yeah, yeah I know." Lily cut him off.

"Right." He left the car again.

"So you're married then?" Fi asked as soon as Sam left the car, picking up the conversation as if they had never been interrupted.

"Technically I am, yeah." The moments passed. 10 minutes later Sam still hadn't returned. "We should head in."

"Probably got himself into trouble." Fi muttered as Lily pulled the keys out of the ignition. The women entered the bar to find that it was filled predominantly with men, the only women were working as waitresses. It was loud, dirty and dark. Out of the corner of her eye Lily could scarcely make out the pattern of Sam's shirt over in a secluded booth.

"Hey baby." He greeted when she approached the table. She and Fi waited, hoping to pick up on his angle. "I would've been back out but someone wanted a drink." He gestured to the man sitting across from him.

Peppy was a dark haired man, dressed as if it were the late 70s. A few gold chains hanging from his neck, from one dangled a cross. He was sporting a proud Miami tan, if Lily didn't know better, he might've been confused for a native Floridian.

"Well! If it isn't my favorite angel!" Peppy greeted her. That's what the angle was, they were going to have to loosen his jaw before they got any information. "And you brought a friend." His accent was heavy. "Please, sit with us."

Lily looked to Fiona before sliding into the bench next to Sam. Fi took a chair from a nearby table and sat at the end.

"You don't want to sit by Peppy?" The man asked, turning to Fi.

"Tempting, but I like it better here."

"You're choice. So… Lily. You must be thrilled to see this sonovabitch alive!" Peppy laughed.

"Giddy, as you can imagine."

"We should drink toast." He laughed, calling for the waitress to bring two more shot glasses. "To no longer being grieving widow."

Fiona nearly choked on her drink.

"Widow?" She asked between coughs.

"Yes, you did not know? The lovely Mrs. Axe here had to play the widow for years now."

"You're married to… SAM?" Fi was still trying to catch her breath.

"Up until a day ago I was his widow."

"We can discuss all this later. Peppy I'd like to avoid becoming a widower, so is there any light you can shed on this situation?" Sam interrupted.

"I know Dima was far from thrilled to hear that you were in town." Peppy took another shot and sighed deeply. "From what I heard Andrick Botkin wasn't particularly happy either."

"Don't suppose you could give me a location for either of them." Sam said, pouring Peppy another shot.

"It might take a little work. I'll give you a call if I can find anything." He offered his hand to Sam, who reluctantly shook it.

"I appreciate it man."

"Mrs. Axe." Peppy leered with a smile as they stood to leave.

"A pleasure as always." Lily forced herself to smile.

"Not a word Fiona." Sam said firmly as they walked out of the bar.

"Wouldn't dare." She smirked, exchanging glancing with Lily and smiling. Fi was going to be having a long chat with Michael when they got back to Madeline's house. Oh yes, a long chat about commitment, now she had a prime example. She smiled again as she climbed into the backseat of the car, unaware of the tension between Sam and Lily.

"Well, that was fun." Lily commented quietly as the car began to move again. She didn't know what else to say, it had been years since someone had referred to her as Mrs. Axe. It threw her for a loop, Sam too from the silence that had fallen. And she thought that the drive out felt long.

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Sorry about the delay. Had my 21st birthday last week and decided to give socializing a try. Interacting with people and all that… quite a change from interacting with my computer. Anyways, thanks for the reviews, I enjoy them and they make me giddy enough to write faster, Heehee. Well they make me giddy anyway. I'm working on the next chapter; there will be some more explanation so no worries there. Thanks for reading, I really do appreciate it.


	9. Chapter 9

They returned to the house in record time. Sam was in a strange mood and quietly disappeared into the kitchen while Fi and Lily joined Maddie and Michael in the living room. Sam's absence didn't go unnoticed.

"What's with him?" Michael asked as Fi and Lily took seats on the couch.

"He's fine." Lily answered quickly, giving Fi a pointed look.

"Were you able to find anything out?"

"A few old… friends." Lily hesitated to say enemies, not sure what was okay to discuss infront of Michael's mother. "Pepik said he'd call Sam as soon as he found something. Have you heard anything?"

"Not yet."

"Well, if we're just going to wait around the house I'll order some lunch." Maddie said, breaking the silence that had fallen.

"I'm gonna talk to Sam." Lily said standing up and leaving the room.

"I know something you don't know." Fi taunted Michael as soon as they were alone.

"Oh?"

"About Sam."

"There's very little I don't know about Sam."

"You didn't know about his wife a few months ago when Veronica broke up with him."

"True." Michael vacated his chair and took the empty spot on the couch next to Fi.

"And you don't know who the lucky lady is?"

"No… do you?" Despite himself, Michael was intrigued.

"If you take me out to dinner, just the two of us, I'll tell you." He couldn't help but smile at her.

"Okay."

"You know Mrs. Axe very well…" Fi smiled.

-----------------------------------------------The Garage----------------------------------------------

"Sam?" Lily asked, closing the door behind her.

"Yeah?" He was distracting himself at the tool bench, putting things in order.

"Whatcha doing out here?"

"Nothing."

"Is that right?" She came up behind him, standing on her toes so she could look over his shoulder. "Anything bothering you?"

"I just…" He sighed; she could tell that he was struggling with something. Quietly she took a step closer and wrapped her arms around his middle, pressing her front against his back. He relaxed almost instantly. "I feel guilty."

"About what?"

"Did I screw everything up for you?"

"What?" She forced him to turn around and face her. "Sam, you did not screw everything up for me, why would you think that?"

"Just… the way I left and then you were stuck as a widow for the last 10 years, I've been here—"

"Stop." She said in a surprisingly firm tone. "You didn't screw anything up for me Sam. Yeah, I've been a widow, but now I'm not." She smiled, "I'm glad we got married, when I thought you were dead it was something I could hold on to. I knew that I must've meant something more to you then those other women."

Sam looked at her for a moment before brushing a few strands of hair away from her face. He watched as she smiled softly, enjoying the feel of his hand against her cheek.

"Plus I was pretty screwed up to begin with, that couldn't possibly be blamed on you." Lily said with a laugh before pulling him into a hug.

"You still are." She pulled back from him.

"What, screwed up?"

"Special. Out of all of the women—"

"And there have been a lot."

"Trying to be sentimental here."

"Sorry."

"I would marry you again."

"I'm sure you would, I was a great wife."

"Yeah you were… are."

"I never nagged."

"Never said that you _had a headache_." Sam smiled fondly at that thought.

"A perk to marrying a younger woman."

"Don't have to tell me." He said pulling her closer.

"Never fails to amaze me that you can focus on _this_ when someone out there is trying to kill us."

"Well, that is how we ended up married in the first place."

_"There you are, I was starting to worry." Lily greeted Sam when he returned to her apartment._

_"Yeah sorry bout that, my meeting ran late." His tone was sullen._

_"What's wrong? Did your meeting not go well?" She asked, forcing herself to sit up on the couch. _

_"Depends on your definition of well." He replied, lifting her legs and sitting down again, resting her feet in his lap. "I was given a new assignment."_

_"Are you being relocated?" She tried to drain her voice of emotion but it had the opposite effect, he could hear the concern._

_"No. I should only be gone for a week or two. But it's going to be dangerous… there's a good chance I won't come back."_

_Lily couldn't think of anything to say. Neither could Sam it seemed. Which was a weird occurrence, because for the vast majority of the time these two could not be quieted. She switched positions so that instead of her legs, she was sitting in his lap._

_"So what do you want to do?" He asked after a few moments of silence._

_"Hmm… dinner?"_

_"Oh, yeah we can do that first." She smiled at him and stood up, it was noticeable that her usually spark was dimmed for the moment._

_"I'll uh… I'll go see what we have." He followed her into the kitchen, leaning against the wall as she moved around the room._

_"That wasn't the only reason I was late. There's something else I want to talk to you about."_

_"Okay." She kept moving._

_"Lil, stop." He said firmly, moving in front of her and putting his arms on her shoulders. She couldn't bring herself to look up at him; she was embarrassed to be so emotional. They both knew what this relationship was, but she couldn't stand the thought of him not being there. "Hey, look at me." Slowly she raised her head, the tears stinging her eyes._

_"What else could there possibly be?" She sniffled._

_"I was thinking… I don't have any family, if something does happen, my pension and everything back in the states just disappears."_

_"Sam, I don't wanna talk about—"_

_"No, this is important. I think we should get married."_

_"What?!" It was a good thing Sam had a hold on her, cause as soon as those words were uttered all ability to balance left her body. "You… you want to get married?"_

_"Everything would go to you if I—You'll be taken care of this way."_

_"You can't be serious."_

_"I'm perfectly serious. Do you not want to marry me?"_

_"That's not it, of course I'd want to marry you."_

_"So… marry me then."_

_"Okay."_

_"Great." He pulled a ring out his pocket and slid it on her finger, then kissed her quickly, "So, dinner?"_

_"You got me a ring?" She asked, looking down gold band that was now the focal point of her hand. Sam just nodded, "It's really pretty."_

_"Glad you like it." It was a simple ring, a medium band of gold. There was a small red stone mounted in the middle. _Sam looked down at her hand, impressed that her engagement ring was still in good condition. There was a second band of thin gold and had been welded to the other one.

"I don't think I've taken this off for more than a day since you gave it to me."

"Moved mine to the pinky." He shrugged as she turned over his hand to see the ring that she had given him.

"There it is." She smiled, quietly she pressed a small kiss to the back of his hand.

"Am I interrupting something?" Michael asked from the doorway. Sam and Lily both turned quickly and took a step away from each other.

"No." Lily answered quickly.

"Okay… Fi and I are going to go pick up lunch."

"I'll go back in with Madeline." She offered, leaving the garage without a second look at either of them.

"So, you married Lily." Michael said conversationally.

"A while ago."

"Can't say I'm surprised."

"Fi would disagree with you on that."

"I had to trade her a dinner for that information." Sam just laughed as they headed for the door. "I just can't— never mind."

"What?"

"I can't believe that you two are married."

"I can't believe that you didn't figure it out."

"Neither of you struck me as the marrying type. With the way you used to fight."

"Buddy I don't think you want to open that door." Sam stopped Michael from going on. "If there's anybody with a more screwed up relationship then Lily and me, it's you and Fiona." There really wasn't an argument for that. Like anyone who worked in this field, they all had screwed up relationships.

Michael had just opened the kitchen door when they heard a car speeding down the street. Upon entering the house Michael and Sam quickly realized how quiet it was. They exchanged looks and moved further into the house, not a single sound. Something was wrong. Michael went first, he noticed that front door had been broken.

"Mom!" Michael spotted his mother, lying on the floor of the living room. He rushed to her side, there was blood seeping from a small cut on her forehead. "Mom, what happened?"

"It happened so fast." He helped her sit up while Sam took a quick look around the house. "There were three men…"

"Fi and Lily are gone Michael." Sam said reentering the room.

"They took them." Madeline was near tears. "I couldn't see their faces… It happened so fast, the girls didn't even have a chance to scream. I'm sorry Michael. I'm sorry."

"It's okay mom." He hugged her, "It's okay."

Sam looked around the room again, hoping to find anything. Any possible clue that could give them an idea of what had happened. There was nothing. But he knew that whoever was responsible wouldn't get away with this.

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And that's chapter 9. Sorry about the wait, been busy with the new semester. Reviews, as always, are appreciated.

I'd like to address something. Now like everyone I enjoy Fiona, Michael and the possibility of them getting together. But this story edges more towards being Sam-centric. So that's going to be the main thing. There will be Michael/Fi stuff through out, don't worry. But it's going to happen in it's own time as the story progresses, so please just be patient. The build up is always the best part!


	10. Chapter 10

_It was the 8__th__ day since Sam had disappeared on his mission. It was only suppose to be a week… now it was a week and a day. Lily was worried to say the least. On that 8__th__ night she was lying in the dark bedroom, listening to the radiator hum in the corner. Every time she closed her eyes there were flashes of things that could've happened. It was making it difficult to sleep, as was the ringing phone._

_Lily sat up, the phone actually was ringing. She hurried across the cold, hardwood floor, desperate to get there before the person at the other end hung up._

_"Yes, hello?" She answered out of breath._

_"Lily? It's Roger… from the office."_

_"Of course. Hi."_

_"Sam asked me to give you a call."_

_"Is he all right?"_

_"He's alive, beat up pretty badly."_

_"Where are you?" Roger told her the address for the small hospital that was run specifically for the military and agency personal in the city._

_She had never gotten dressed so quickly in all her life. It was almost midnight and Sam would most likely be asleep, but that didn't really matter to her. She just had to see him with her own eyes, make sure that he was still breathing. As soon as she saw that he was still breathing she knew that everything was going to be all right._

"Lily." Someone was shaking her. "Lily, are you alright?"

"Hmm?" She groaned, something wasn't right. She was lying on the floor, her eyes were closed and her head hurt.

"Lily, you need to open your eyes."

She did.

"Fiona?" She muttered weakly, raising a hand to cover her eyes. It was far too bright in the room. "What… what happened?"

"I'm not sure, just that we were taken from Madeline's house." Lily sat up and looked around. They had been left in some kind of sitting room, there was one door leading in and it was locked.

"How long was I out for?" Lily asked, reaching a hand to the back of her head. She could already feel a bump forming, it was painful to touch.

"About 20 minutes." Fi continued to move around the room, checking the barred windows, looking for any possible way out. There was no way to tell where they were visually, all of the windows had black film covering them from the outside.

Lily was slow to get to her feet, her head throbbing with each small movement. What hurt more was the sound that came with the door squeaking open…

_The door to the hospital room was agonizingly loud. The building was old and therefore the doors and their hinges were rusted, making a noise that could be compared to a groan. Lily paused and realized that this was not what she should be focusing on at the moment. Sam lying in the bed on the other side of the door was her primary concern._

_A small gasp escaped her lips when she caught sight of the man in the bed. Part of her said 'move closer, go to his side!' While the other part wondered if she could turn away quickly enough so that the image wouldn't be permanently committed to her mind. His face was badly bruised on the left side, his arms were bandaged from what appeared to be cuts, and she couldn't tell what had made them. The silence of the room was filled by beeps of one of the machines he was hooked up to._

_Quietly she took her place next to him, slipping her hand into his own. The contact caused him to stir slightly, his eyes opened slowly, searching the room before landing on her._

_"I feel like hell." He managed weakly._

_"You look it." A slow smile creeping onto her face as she glanced down at their joined hands. The tears streaming down her cheeks were ignored until he tried to reach up his other hand to wipe them away. With a groan he realized that he couldn't do it. "Don't… don't try and exert yourself."_

_"What're you crying for? I'm right here, baby." He reassured her._

_"I know… I was just… worried that you weren't coming back. I only just got used to having you around."_

_"It's gonna take a lot more to get rid of me."_

_"Good to know." _

_"He's lucky." Came a voice from the ignored corner of the room. Lily quickly turned and was surprised to see Peppy lurking there. "Almost didn't get there in time."_

_"What're you—"_

_"I found him in alley way." Peppy struggled through his broken English. "Contacted his operation director."_

_"Thanks." Lily some how managed._

_"Of course, I would hate to see my favorite angel widowed." Peppy grinned at her before pushing away from the wall he was leaning on…_

He hit the wall with a powerful **thud**. Sam's hands firmly held his shoulders, there was a level of anger that Peppy had never seen before.

"Sam, I don't know anything. I've only had an hour."

"Well that was enough time for someone to snatch Lily."

"They took her?"

"Who is **they**?" Sam pushed the man against the wall again. It took Michael a moment to see how unrestrained his friend was becoming.

"I know nothing specific, just whispers." Peppy was shaking, fear coursing through his body. He also had never seen Sam in such an enraged state. Carefully Michael put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Sam." He said simply.

"Dima contacted me half hour ago." Peppy began in his broken English. "She said that they were in… process of taking her."

"Do you know where they were taking them to?" Michael asked in a calm tone.

"Them? It was only supposed to be Lily."

"Well clearly someone didn't follow directions." Sam interjected.

"I don't know where they were going. Dima didn't tell me. Just that I was to contact you once I had heard from her again."

Suddenly a ringing cell phone broke the tension of the room. Peppy pulled out his phone to check.

"It's not mine."

"It's mine." Michael replied. He flipped it opened and answered. "Carla, not a good time."

"Oh, it's the perfect time Michael. The more time you spend talking with me, the less you spend searching the city for Lily and Fiona. We'll be able to help each other."

Michael sighed and exchanged looks with Sam.

"What do I have to do?"

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Sorry as usual about the delay. I always appreciate the reviews and will strive to update more often.


	11. Chapter 11

"Dima." Lily muttered in surprise. In the doorway stood a woman, about the same height as Lily, short hair dyed blonde. In all honesty there was nothing intimidating about her. However, the two men standing behind her were a different story. Dima knew better than to do anything without back up.

"Lily." She greeted before turning and nodding to her henchmen. They moved quickly, standing on either side of Fiona, ready to hold her back if need be. "It's been a long time."

"Not nearly long enough." Dima ignored Lily and turned to Fiona.

"I'm sorry about the mistake. These Neanderthals were only supposed to take Mrs. Axe." There was something mocking in the way Dima said Lily's name. Her accent was thick but her English was very good. Much better than Pepik's broken sentence structure.

"Mikhal and Dimitri not as capable as they once were? You should really change up your crew every now and then. After all, they screwed up things before, why should 10 years make a difference?" Lily knew how to push Dima's buttons. Knew her intolerance for a lack of efficiency. Her dislike of people pointing out flaws in her organization. But more than anything, her hatred for Lily.

Which is why Lily wasn't surprised when the butt of Dima's gun made painful contact with the back of her head. Knocking her to the floor, where she lay unconscious. As anticipated Fiona attempted to make a move but Mikhal and Dimitri were there to restrain her.

"She never learns." Dima said passively before leaving the room. Lily remained motionless on the floor, a small trickle of blood mixing in with her brown locks…

_ "Do I look okay?" Lily asked, running a hand through her freshly dyed hair. Sam stopped and looked at her. It was a stupid thing to do, standing still in the snow. The shoulder length brown locks were now a fiery red, speckled with snow. It was for the sake of their current mission._

_Lily didn't care much for these undercover jobs. They always ended up in smoky bars, loud clubs or creepy back offices. But at least she rarely had to go in alone. Sam was almost always assigned with her. Things had started to fall into place for them. They worked together; Sam spent practically every night at her apartment although he kept his place for appearance sake. Of course no one ever looked for him there._

_ "I'm not crazy about the color, but you look gorgeous as always baby." He replied, taking in the difference in shade._

_ "You sure?" She brushed the right side of her head again, making direct eye contact with Sam. He glanced in the direction that she was gesturing towards. Behind her, a few yards away were two men. They had been following Sam and Lily for blocks now. Quietly he stopped her hand, covering it with his own and pulling her close._

_ "It's Mikhal and Dimitri, they're Dima's men." He whispered, close enough that it looked as though he were pulling her into a kiss._

_ "Fuck it's cold out here. You are bringing some heat right?" She asked, snaking her arms around his neck._

_ "That __**is**__ a gun you're feeling."_

_ "Good to know. I've got nowhere to hide one in my dress." It was then Sam realized that he didn't see which dress she had ultimately decided on before leaving the apartment. She already had her long jacket buttoned up when he joined her in the living room._

_ "Lets get this going." He said, giving her a quick kiss. They continued along the sidewalk, turning into a dark alleyway._

"You've gone to extreme lengths to get my help, must be an important job." Michael made his way down the alley, holding the phone to his ear, waiting for Carla to respond.

"Well, you haven't been very cooperative lately. A little persuasion never hurt." Carla taunted.

"This is more than a little persuasion. I don't help you until Fi and Lily are returned, alive."

"That's a sweet notion Michael. But it's not going to happen. It's a quick, simple job. There's a man who has been alluding me."

"Imagine that."

"All I need you to do is track him down and bring him in. I'm sure Sam will help. You should ask him about Dima, that might provide some much needed motivation."

"Who am I looking for?"

"That's a good boy. Now, go to the end of the alley and there will be a manila folder taped to the underside of one of the dumpsters. Oh and Michael, do hurry. There's no telling how long before Dima looses her temper."

"I want proof that they're alive. Otherwise no deal."

"Give me a few minutes." With that Carla hung up and Michael was joined by Sam, who had let Peppy go.

"What's happening?"

"Carla's working with Dima, she has Lily and Fi."

"That's bad Mikey." Sam sighed heavily.

"What exactly is your history with this woman?"

_ "Ya know, just once I'd like to spend a weekend at home, making dinner, taking a nice afternoon nap… maybe wearing pajamas." Lily admitted quietly as they made their way through the loud club. They were undercover, supposed American government workers looking to switch side, Dima and her brother Andrick._

_ Sam glanced at her, admiring the short gold sequin dress she was wearing. He laughed and put a protective arm around her._

_ "I agree with all of that except for the pajamas." Lily scoffed and leaned into his side as they walked down a dark cinder block hallway._

_ "You'd be singing a different tune if you had to wear the short dresses and high heels."_

_ "Actually, I was thinking it would be more fun if you wore nothing. And in a sign of solidarity, I'll spend the weekend with you, also wearing nothing."_

_ "Quite the sacrifice Sammy."_

_ "I do what I can baby." They stopped at the heavy metal door and Sam knocked. "Maybe we can wrap this up quickly. Spend what's left of our Saturday in bed."_

_ "From your lips to God's ears."_

"God…" Lily muttered, slowly touching her hand to her head. The last thing she needed was another head injury. The room was spinning, she was faintly aware that someone was sitting next to her… talking to her? It didn't matter; she just wanted to close her eyes again.

_ They were led through a winding corridor towards a back office. It was there they were introduced to Dima Botkin and her brother Andrick. Dima was a tall woman, eye to eye with Lily. Her long dark hair was tied in a tight bun at the base of her neck. She was horribly skinny and a very rigid looking woman. Andrick wore the same tense expression as his sister. He was much taller, dark hair of the same shade. Muscular but not necessarily big. They both stood, moving around the couches to greet Sam and Lily._

_ "You must be the Americans."_

_ "We that obvious?"_

_ "She isn't." Andrick smiled, bringing Lily's hand to his lips for a kiss. Dima rolled her eyes and leaned against the back of the leather sofa._

_ "Be that as it may, she is married." Sam interjected, pulling Lily's hand free from Andrick's._

_ "My apologies." He wasn't happy about the exchange but tried to let it roll off his back, "Please, have seat."_

_ "Your English is very good."_

_ "Thank you." Dima said with a forced pleasantness, truth be told she thought it was a horribly crass language. "We understand that you are interested in… what is the word?" She asked, turning to her brother._

_ "Defecting."_

_ "That's it. Defecting from the United States. What has brought this on? I believed all of you people to be attached to your country."_

_ "Well, prices have changed lately." Sam began._

_ "To be frank, your side is willing to pay better." Lily finished._

_ "Very well." Andrick was about to say something else when the door behind Sam and Lily opened. Mikhal gestured for Dima and Andrick to join him in the hall for a moment. _

_ "I've got a bad feeling Sam." Lily stood up, not feeling comfortable with her back to the door._

_ "I know what you mean." Sam also stood and moved so that he was off to the side of the door, pulling his gun free from it's hiding place._

_ "I need to get a thigh holster or something." She muttered, moving to stand behind him. The door slowly opened, the barrel of a gun entering first, with a sure hit Sam knocked the gun from Dima's hand and pulled her to the floor by her wrist. Lily grabbed the fallen gun in time to chase Andrick down the hall._

_ The problem with being in a new environment, like the back hallways of a dark nightclub, is that you don't know the surroundings. Lily carefully moved along the cold, red brick walls. Cursing the fact that there was barely any light. The attack came from behind. Her body was slammed into the wall before falling to the floor. The gun went flying from her hand, she couldn't find it even if she tried. Andrick stood over her, a tall imposing figure. He weapon expertly trained upon her._

_ "You really don't want to do this." She said as calmly as possible._

_ "Why not? We checked. You had no interest in defecting, this was all an attempt at bringing down Dima and me."_

_ "Can't get anything past you."_

_ "Not the best time to get smart with me." He cocked his gun and was about to pull the trigger. Lily closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impact of impending bullets. The gunshots came, she flinched and then… nothing… shouldn't she have felt something? _

_ "Lily?" She opened her eyes. In front of her was a motionless Andrick and behind him was Sam. With a whimper she pulled herself to her feet before running to him. "You okay?"_

_ "Mm hmm." She clung to him tightly._

"I shot her brother. She spent some time behind bars, Andrick did time once he was better." Michael was about to reply when his cell phone rang.

"Yeah." He answered.

"Michael Westen?" Came a thick Russian accent.

"Yes?"

"Hold on a minute." He could hear the phone being passed around before…

"Michael?" Came Fiona in a desperate tone.

"Fi? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Lily's hurt, she's taken a few blows to the head, I'm having trouble keeping her conscious."

"Okay, Fiona." He said firmly, trying to calm her, "is Dima the woman there?"

"Yes."

"Carla said they're going to hold you until we find a guy for her. But that's unlikely to happen. Can you tell me anything about where you are?"

"Not really… just… " Dima glared at Fiona. "You should see enterprise." Suddenly the phone was pulled from her hands.

"Wait, Fi? Fi?"

"I'm sorry, Fiona is busy right now. Tell Sam not to waste time, I can't promise that Lily will be around long enough to be returned." The phone clicked.

"What she say? Are they okay?"

"No. Lily's hurt… Fi gave me some kind of code." Michael hurried back towards the car, eager to find something to write on.

"How badly hurt?" Sam asked, following his friend's brisk pace.

"She's been hit in the head a couple of times, Fi's having trouble getting her to stay conscious… do you have a pen?" Michael asked, grabbing a newspaper from the passenger seat of the car. He wrote the words down just as she had said them. "What the hell does this stand for?" Sam looked over his shoulder before taking the pen from Michael and began to write beneath the statement:

You should see enterprise

yoU Should See Enterprise

USS Enterprise

"They're near the ship yards." Sam said, handing the paper back to him.

"We need to get going."

"You can handle finding this guy on your own?"

"Yeah, what are you going to do?"

"I've got some buddies down at the yard, if the girls are there I'll find them."

"Okay… be careful."

"You too." Sam started towards his car.

"Hey Sam."

"Yeah?"

"Bring them back." Sam just nodded, the two men continued on their ways. One way or another they were going to get Lily and Fi back.

* * *

Sorry about the delay. Reviews as always are appreciated. On the whole ship yard thing, I have no idea if there are ship yards in Miami but for the sake of things I'm suggesting that there is one in the area at least.


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks to Petunia846 for pointing out the typo, it's been fixed. Sorry bout that… wow… don't know how I missed that… again, apologies.

* * *

_ Sam had never seen Lily so quiet. Near death experiences tended to have that effect. Although it was the opposite for him. The close calls always reinvigorated Sam. They quietly entered the apartment, he no longer thought of it as just 'her apartment'. It was theirs. A commitment he never saw himself making. Then again, marriage was also a big commitment that he hadn't really considered before Lily._

_ "Why don't you lay down for a little bit, I'll make some dinner." She just nodded and went to the couch. He watched as she sat perfectly still. Without a word he turned on the light before kneeling down in front of her. Sam removed her shoes and smiled up at her. She returned the expression but there was something lacking. Her usual spark seemed to be missing. She didn't even make a joke about him cooking._

_ "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked, reaching a hand to her cheek and brushing it softly._

_ "Mm hmm." She nodded._

"_Come on, lay down." She was still in her gold, sparkly dress. She was incredibly over dressed for the old couch and couldn't have been very comfortable. But at the moment he didn't think she wanted to do anything but rest._

_ She nodded again and settled into the couch, watching him leave the room. This was a closer call than she had before. If Sam hadn't gotten there in time… He saved her, that had to be love. For the last couple of years, ever since they started seeing each other in an unprofessional way, even after they married. She questioned what his feelings really were for her. Lily was a lot of things, but she wasn't stupid. She knew his history. But she also knew the look she saw in his eyes tonight. When he shot Andrick, just barely getting there in time. The way he watched her after that… it had to be something deeper. This wasn't just temporary._

_ Quietly she stood up and walked to the kitchen. Sam didn't hear her coming, with her bare feet there wasn't a sound to be made on the cold hard wood floors. Lily found him with his back turned to her, focused on contents of a cabinet. She crossed the room and snaked her arms around his middle, resting her head against his back. He paused, standing still for a moment before turning to face her. Once they had repositioned she returned her arms to his middle and sighed contently when he pulled her close, resting his chin on the top of her head._

_ "Thank you for tonight." She muttered softly._

_ "Couldn't let anything happen to you, I'm too attached." She looked up and smiled._

_ "Glad to hear it."_

"Lily? Lily can you hear me?"

"Yes… the room's spinning."

"I'm not surprised. Lily, you need to listen to me." Fiona was speaking in a very firm tone, forcing Lily to look at her. "You have a concussion, I need you to keep talking to me, okay? Stay awake."

"It's hard…" Lily blinked, struggling to open her eyes again. A loud noise came from outside, she jumped and looked at Fiona, "We're near ships?"

"I know. I already told Michael."

"You talked to Michael?"

"Briefly. Carla's involved in all of this, she made a deal with Dima to take care of you. I just got to come along for the ride."

"Sorry about that."

"Not your fault. Henchmen are highly overrated." At that moment the door opened and one of the hulking, silent men entered. Fi stood up quickly, putting herself between him and Lily. He just smirked at her before putting a box of gauze and a bottle of antiseptic down on the coffee table. With that he left the room, leaving the women alone again.

"I'll clean that cut for you." Fi moved to the items left on the table and began opening the box to pull out a few gauze pads. Taking a seat on the edge of the coffee table, she took a closer look at Lily's wound. It was then that she noticed that her eyes were beginning to droop close again. "No no, Lily, you need to stay awake. Talk to me… what was Sam like when you met him?"

"Thinner middle, thicker hair… less grey hair… gorgeous."

"Sam? Really?" Fiona engaged, trying to keep her talking.

"Oh yeah. Tall and that smile. Of course I thought he was a bit of a tool when we first met."

"Now that sounds more like Sam." Fi opened the antiseptic and wetted the gauze. "This is going to sting a bit."

"He—" She hissed slightly as the cold liquid touched the open cut on her forehead. "He was late to the assignment meeting. This was going to be my first official assignment and he comes strolling in 15 minutes late."

_ "Sam, thank you for joining us. Sam Axe this is Lily Layfield." Greg, the superior officer introduced. Lily hid her annoyance and offered her hand._

_ "Sorry 'bout that. Got held up by a contact." Sam explained, moving to meet her._

_ "Yeah, you're contact left some lipstick on your collar… also you mis-buttoned your shirt." Lily pointed out before retaking her seat._

_ "What was your name again?"_

_ "Lily."_

_ "You and Miss Layfield are going to be working together." Greg explained, handing a folder across the desk to Sam._

_ "I assume you've already been through all the training?"_

_ "Of course."_

_ "Anyone good?"_

_ "Michael Weston." Sam nodded. "I think he mentioned you once or twice."_

_ "Mikey and I go way back." He replied, only half paying attention to the conversation. He was going through the folder. _

_ "You two start tomorrow." _

"What was your first job together?" Fi asked, taping a piece of clean white bandage to Lily's forehead.

"Being locking in a room together for two days doing surveillance."

"I'd shoot Sam before being locked in a room with him."

Lily laughed and tried to reposition herself so that she would be less likely to rest her head against any of the couch cushions.

"We fought the whole time."

"He still managed to charm you?"

"Sammy has flaws, but he's a good man. Which is a miracle in itself considering how he grew up."

"Odd… I never really thought of Sam as having parents."

"He did… if you could call them that. His dad was abusive, his mom… well she wasn't like Madeline. You know what Michael says, people with happy families don't become spies. Same rule applies."

"How did you end up a spy?"

"My parents were both involved in the intelligence business. Daisy and I both just got sucked into it… Can't I just close my eyes for a few minutes?" Lily asked, her eyes felt so heavy.

"You can't, you'll fall asleep and you can't do that. Why don't you tell me how you and Sam went from fighting to marriage?"

"Sam hit on me, how else." Lily took a deep breath and forced her eyes to stay open. "A lot of the fighting came from the fact that he kept trying to flirt with me."

_"What time is it?" Lily asked, standing up from the monitors to rest her eyes and stretch._

_ "Counting down the hours till we're off the clock?" He watched her arch her back in a stretch. "Maybe we could go somewhere… talk, eat… nap?"_

_ "What about your __**contact**__? I'm sure she might take issue with you trying to have contact with me."_

_ "Nah, it's not a serious contact. She didn't have any useful information."_

_ "And I do?"_

_ "You don't need it." He smiled appreciatively, looking at her as she reached her arms above her head and tilted to loosen up her back and neck._

_ "Gosh, I'm so flattered." She replied sarcastically._

_ "How about dinner? Just dinner."_

_ "Just dinner?"_

_ "Yes. I know all the respectable places around here." She gave him a long look, trying to detect anything from his hopeful expression._

_ "Fine."_

_ "Nothing I love more than a woman half-heartedly agreeing to spend time with me." Lily laughed and retook her seat._

_ "I'm sure it's nothing new for you." Sam smiled at her._

"We just started dating after that." Lily concluded, desperately wishing that she could just rest her eyes for a few minutes. "What's with you and Michael?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you together are you not?"

"We're not… most of the time."

"Ah, Michael still handles relationships as he always has."

"You two were never--?"

"God no. Michael is more like a brother… wish they'd hurry up…"

* * *

Michael glanced down at the folder from Carla again. He had the right address, although it looked as though the house was empty. Walking the path to the front door left Michael with an odd feeling. Something just wasn't right. He got to the front door and knocked.

No answer.

As casually as possible he leaned over to glance through one of the front windows. There were a few pieces of random furniture inside, but other than that the home appeared abandoned. With a quick glance around, Michael made his way to look for a back door.

He had just set foot on the overgrown lawn surrounding the steps to the screen door, when he felt something graze his leg… a trip wire.

"Damn…" Michael turned as quickly as possible and ran back towards the car. There were only seconds until something ignited. He had just made it behind the car when the house blew. Pieces of fiery debris came flying across the yard. He stood up and turned to see the flaming structure. "Well… that can't be good."

* * *

Sam hadn't been down to the shipyard in a while. Most of the time he would meet his buddies at a bar. There was more alcohol and fewer ships at the bars.

"Axe!" One of the men called, coming out of a warehouse. "What the hell are you doing down here?"

"Needed to use your expertise Eddy." Sam replied, shaking the man's hand.

"Whatta need?"

"I'm looking for some people. Have you seen anyone out of the ordinary nearby? Any abandoned buildings down here that would go unnoticed?"

"I can think of a few places. Let me go write down the addresses for ya." Eddy said, leading him back to the warehouse. "What's this all about?"

"Long story."

* * *

"Come on…" Michael griped as the phone continued to ring.

"Yeah." Sam answered.

"Hey, find anything?"

"I've got two addresses, just heading to the first place right now."

"Give me the other one, I'll check that one out."

"What happened with Carla's guy?"

"It was a set up. The house was wired to blow. We need to hurry up and find them. This whole thing was a distraction."

* * *

The door to the room opened again. This time Fi wasn't up quick enough and was pulled to her feet by one of the men. The other man took Lily and ushered them out into the hallway. It looked like they were in a deserted hotel. They stopped in front of another door and were pushed inside.

There they found Carla, Dima and Andrick waiting. Fi glanced at Lily, who was unsteady on her feet. She was also visibly upset at the trio in front of her.

"What's going on?" Fi asked.

"Thought it was time for a chat." Carla replied.

"Wanted to be kept company while Michael does your dirty work?"

"I'm afraid Michael and Sam have probably been dispatched by now." Lily blanched, Fi refused to react, not believing Carla's statement. "I hope you don't mind, it'll just be us."

* * *

That's chapter 12. Reviews are appreciated, thank you as always. Tried going a littler longer this time round.


	13. Chapter 13

"Ladies, please, have a seat." Andrick said suddenly, turning his attentions towards Lily. "Mrs. Axe, it's been a long time."

"Andrick." She acknowledge simply.

"No witty barb?" He laughed as the two women were forced into chairs. "Dima must've hit you harder than she realized."

"Just amazed to see you out of prison." Lily's head was spinning. Head wound aside, everything had just taken an odd, unexpected turn. Was she really sitting in a room with the woman who killed her sister, the woman who has wanted her dead for nearly 12 years and the man who almost killed her? This was not a group that she wanted to be sitting with. Not to mention Carla's comment about Sam and Michael. They couldn't really be dead. Both were far too clever for fall for anything.

"You're quiet…" Andrick smirked, amused that his presences was throwing her for such a loop.

"Not really sure what there is to say at this point. It's not like you brought me here for a chat."

"So perceptive." Carla mocked. "You should've just stayed in Canada. But you had to be nosey like your big sister. Daisy met a rather unfortunate end, started asking too many questions. Despite being an effective operative, she just had to be let go. Too bad you got out of the game when you did, would've been nice to have you on my team."

"She will get to meet a similar end, if that is consolation." Dima chimed in, glaring at Lily.

"We haven't quite decided what to do with you Fiona. Your presence was an unplanned surprise." Carla continued, shooting a look at Dima.

"Oh I'm sure you'll figure out something to do with little ol' me."

"Can we get started?" Andrick asked suddenly, moving closer to Lily.

"Of course. Andrick has been waiting rather impatiently to see you." Carla said in an alarmingly casual tone.

"May I?" He asked.

"Yes." Carla replied. Andrick reached down and grabbed Lily by the arm, jerking her up out of the chair. Fi was quick to get to her feet but found herself forced back into the chair by Mikhal, keeping her there.

"You're coming with me." With that he pushed her towards the door, taking her out of the room. Lily stumbled and fell into the wall; she barely had a moment to regain her footing before she was being man handled again. Her arm was being twisted behind her back while he took her down the hall. "You and I are going to have a chat."

"I'm giddy as you can imagine." Lily managed before he led her into a room, closing the door behind him.

"Alone again. All these years later."

* * *

"It should be up ahead here." Sam said, looking around the area. It was rather bleak, deserted, the perfect place to hold people captive.

"There it is." Michael pulled the car to a stop before getting too close that they could've been spotted. At the end of the road was the abandoned hotel. Only two floors high, it was originally slated to be renovated and expanded, but ended up empty and in disrepair.

"How d'you want to do this?" Sam asked, checking his gun.

"We'll go in on foot." Michael decided, turning off the car. "Does Dima usually have a lot of back up?"

"No, she always thought it was unnecessary if you had a few capable men." Michael took out his own weapon, making sure that everything was functioning.

"Lets go."

* * *

Lily just couldn't understand how she always ended up in these situations. When she woke up this morning she thought that the biggest issue was going to be dealing with her relationships with Sam. Not tied to a chair while a man she hadn't seen for 11 years duck taped her wrists together.

"This is not the direction I expected my day to take." Lily mumbled, her head bobbing slightly. Dizziness taking over again.

"It's the little surprises that make life interesting."

"Is that stitched on a pillow?" His hand made hard contact, slapping her across the cheek.

"You're chatty all of the sudden?"

"Can't stand the silence." She began to look around the room. The windows weren't obstructed, the door was damaged slightly and could be broken easily, and also the chair she was sitting in wasn't structurally sound. "You three orchestrated this whole thing just to get me?"

"Don't be so surprised. You knew that poking your nose around in Carla's business would provoke a response." Andrick said passively as he took another chair and dragged it across the room. He stopped in front of her, sitting down and leaning in close. "This is going to be fun… for me."

"I get nothing out of it?" He slapped her again.

"I spent a lot of time thinking about this." He admitted, leaning in towards her. "A lot of time in my little cell, in a run-down prison hospital. I spent months there thanks to your husband."

"He always makes me proud." She smirked, this time it was the back of his hand that flew across her face. Lily could feel a small trickle of blood running down her cheek from where his ring caught her skin. The cut stung, and having already been throbbing from being slapped didn't help ease the pain. But with everything in her, Lily looked up at Andrick and smiled.

* * *

"What do you think we should do with her?" Dima asked, glancing at Fi who was still being held down in her chair by Mikhal.

"Well, we can't really send her back. Do you think your men can handle disposing of her?" Carla countered her tone tinged with annoyance.

"They can take care of it." Carla just nodded at her, Dima turned to Mikhal and Dimitri. Speaking in Russian she told them to take care of the woman and no mistakes this time. The men just nodded, Dimitri opening the door while his co-worker forced Fi out of the chair.

"So lovely having finally met you Fiona." Carla called after her.

The hallway was quiet and dark. Most of the lights had burned out and were never replaced. The carpeting was pulled up and dirty. Many of the doors were open, showing that the rooms were empty. There was one other door that was closed, that's how Fi knew where Lily was being held.

"No mistakes." Mikhal said to his friend in a mocking tone. "I'd like to see her do something for herself."

"Dima would never lower herself like that. I'd pay to see her trying to do our jobs." Dimitri agreed, glancing into one of the empty rooms. "Is this okay?"

"Fine. Get in there." Mikhal shoved Fi to the middle of the destroyed room. "Anywhere in particular you would like to be shot?"

Fi turned to face them, as she did a slow smile came to her face.

"If you don't care…" The two went to pull their guns when--

"You don't want to do that." Came a voice from behind them followed by the cocking of a gun.

They both turned to find Michael, gun expertly trained on Mikhal. From the back of his pants he pulled another weapon and tossed it to Fi who pointed it at Dimitri. Just behind Michael, Sam appeared in the doorway.

"Where's Lily?"

"Down the hall, closed door on the right." Fi relayed.

"We'll take care of Dima and Carla." Michael barely finished before Sam was out the door again. He had only taken a few steps into the hall before a woman screamed and a gunshot rang out. Sam was momentarily frozen. Michael and Fi quietly entered the hall behind him.

The second gunshot seemed to shake him from his stupor. Hurrying down the hall, Sam paused before he reached the room with the closed door. There was another room right next to it and the door was open. From where he was standing, Sam could see that they were adjoining rooms and that both doors were open.

A way in. Michael and Fi continued down the hall. They were going to take care of Carla and Dima, Andrick was Sam's to deal with. And if that gunshot… if Lily was… well Andrick wouldn't be walking out of that room. Of that much Sam was sure.

* * *

Ooo! What will happen next?! More coming soon. Reviews appreciated as always. I'm not cruel, I will try to get things up soon, don't want to leave anyone hanging.


	14. Chapter 14

Timing is a funny thing; some people had good timing, some have bad timing. It's an interesting thing when they people meet. Michael and Fi had just made it to the room where they had been held when Carla came rushing out. Both had their guns pulled faster than she could manage. A quick glance behind her let them know that Dima had been dispatched. She must've been the one to scream. Although Michael could only make out one bullet hole.

"Carla." She has bad timing.

"Michael. What a pleasure. We rarely see each other when there isn't work involved."

"Can I shoot her?" Fi asked, cutting off any more fake pleasantries.

"Not just yet, go see how Sam's doing."

* * *

Sam careful edged towards the open door, his weapon drawn and ready if needed. Peering in he found that Andrick had his back towards him. Lily was tied to a chair, a fresh gunshot wound in her left arm. Sam couldn't tell if it was a graze or something deeper. There was too much blood soaking her sleeve.

"That's one. But if I remember correctly your husband put four bullets, all in my back no less." Andrick cocked his gun again. He was ready to take another shot, Sam had to act fast.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Sam had a clear shot, but he wasn't going to take it until Andrick's gun was pointing away from Lily.

Andrick swung around quickly, training his gun on Sam. What it suddenly came down to was, who had the quicker trigger finger? Two gunshots, Lily strangled a scream. For her everything went black…

Something hurt and she wasn't sure what had happened. She wasn't even sure if she had really seen Sam in the doorway or not. Something warm was soaking the front of her shirt, there was a heavy weight on top of her and she was pretty sure that the chair she was tied to had tipped over. She wanted to open her eyes; her breath was starting to come in short spurts. Panic was setting in, in her minds eye she saw flashes of colors before stopping on gold… gold?

_ Lily's gold dress lay forgotten on the floor of the kitchen. From there a trail of clothing, mostly Sam's, led down the hallway to the bedroom. Dinner had long since been forgotten. In the bed, most of the sheets had been kicked off. Between the heater in the room and the physical activity, it was just way too hot for covers. Sam was dozing, an expression on his face that was some where between smug and satisfied._

_ Lily meanwhile was unable to sleep. She was restless. Every time she closed her eyes, she found herself staring down the barrel of Andrick's gun. Quietly, she sat up and leaned forward, resting her forearms on her legs. Desperately searching for some kind of calm. She could feel her breathing becoming labor and the tears stinging in her eyes._

_ Sam woke when he heard gasping, struggling breaths. Quickly he sat up, placing a hand on her bareback and rubbing small circles in an attempt to help her relax._

_ "What is it Lil?" She gasped, trying to answer. "Panic attack?" She nodded as the tears began to flow. "Okay, just breathe. Breathe baby." He continued to rub her back. "If I didn't know any better I would've thought that was the first time you had— oh…"_

_ "It's the closest I've ever been." She managed. Sam was shocked, it was hard to believe that she had been in this job for such a long time and was never close to death._

_ "D'you want to lay down?" He asked. She nodded, resting her head on the pillow again as he stayed close. His hand brushed a few strands of hair away from her face before going to her stomach. Gently, Sam moved his hand in slow circles over the bare skin. "You're okay Lily. You're okay…"_

"Lily? Lily can you hear me?" Her eyes finally flickered open. Sam was kneeling above her.

"What—what happened?" She managed, trying to sit up. "Are Fiona and Michael okay?"

"No no, just stay there. Michael went to get the car. I shot Andrick and he landed on you." She glanced sideways to see Fi covering the body.

She touched a hand to stomach, finding her shirt sticky and cold. With a shudder she raised her hand to find it covered with blood.

"It's his. You're fine. Just your arm and that cut on your forehead need to be taken care of."

"Sam…" She struggled; tears began to fill her eyes. "I thought he… I wasn't sure if it was really you." Her sobs took over and no more words were spoken.

"I know baby. It's okay." He comforted her as best he could. It had been years since he was in this role.

"Sam, Michael's out front." Fi informed him, quiet after having witnessed the scene between Sam and Lily. He just nodded and carefully picked up Lily who had fallen back into unconsciousness.

* * *

Lily woke up in the same bed she had slept in the night before. At the moment she didn't really remember how she got there. It hadn't been a dream, she could tell by the soreness in her arm and the throb in her forehead. Something moved in the room.

"Sam?" She asked, not turning her head. The room was dark; she wasn't really sure how late it was.

"No Lily, it's me. I was just checking in on you" Replied Madeline's voice. "Sam and Michael went out to take care of something. Do you need anything?"

"I really really need something for my head please." She tried sitting up but found that the dizziness forced her back down. There was a clean bandage on her forehead; someone had patched up both of her wounds. Not surprising considering that Michael and Sam both were rather adept at bullet removal and stitching up the result of a pistol whipping.

"Honey I've got everything." Maddie answered with a smile, heading towards the bathroom to consult her medicine cabinet.

"You're up." Fi greeted, appearing in the doorway. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit rough… but better. Where did they really go?"

"Dealing with Carla."

"You didn't go along?"

"I wasn't allowed to… Michael thought I would try and shoot her again."

"What a shame that would be."

* * *

"Everything taken care of with Mikhal and Dimitri?" Michael asked as he and Sam turned down a dark, dirt road.

"Yup, didn't take much convincing after they saw what happened to Dima and Andrick."

"Good. Let's get this done." He pulled the car to the stop and the two men got out, both pulling their guns. With a click, the trunk opened revealing a bound and gagged Carla.

"So, how was the ride?" Michael asked, as they pulled her out. They were in the middle of a field of tall grass.

"Killing me would be a huge mistake." She said as soon as the gag was pulled away from her mouth.

"We aren't going to kill you. If we were we would've brought Fi along." Sam replied, closing the trunk.

"But if we have to we will."

"So why did you bring me out here?" Her hands were tied behind her back and she was forced to sit on the ground. There was no real way for her to get up.

"I want information." Michael answered simply, leaning against the back of the car.

"And you think I'm going to give it to you."

"You will, because if you don't then you'll be taking responsibility for two dead bodies in an abandoned motel on the edge of town." Sam supplied.

"There's no proof."

"Mikhal and Dimitri are surprisingly cooperative after they saw what you did to Dima and what happened to Andrick. Isn't that right Sam?"

"That's right buddy. Second time I had to unload a clip into Andrick, won't be happening again."

Carla sighed. She didn't really have an option at this point.

"What do you want to know?" Sam and Michael exchanged looks before glancing back down at the woman in front of them.

"Lets start with who burned me."

* * *

Another chapter to come! Thanks for the reviews, hope I didn't leave you hanging too long.


	15. Chapter 15

"What are you going to tell her?" Michael asked as he pulled into his mom's driveway.

"I don't know yet. I can't tell her that Daisy did what she did to protect her. That kind of guilt would just destroy Lily." Sam sighed. "I'll think of something. What are you going to do?"

"Wait for a call from management."

"Are you dropping Fi at home?"

"Uh… yeah." Sam paused and looked back at his friend.

"You dog." He laughed, climbing out of the car.

"Rein in your surprise."

"That you and Fi are putting the hammer down? That's far from surprising buddy."

"Good night Sam."

"Night Mikey. I'll send Fi out."

* * *

It was late when Lily heard the door to her room open and someone creep in. Whatever Madeline gave her had knocked her out for a couple of hours, but now she was awake and sure that she wasn't alone. She slipped her hand beneath the pillow, reaching for the small gun she had hidden there. Just as she was about to pull the weapon the silence was broken.

"Easy baby, it's just me." Came Sam's voice followed the click of the lamp being turned on. "Feeling better?"

"A bit." She nodded and sat up, as he took a seat on the edge of the bed near her knees. "How'd things go with Carla?"

"She cooperated. Michael got a few answers he's been looking for… I asked a few about your sister." Lily froze at this, hesitating to look up.

"Oh?"

"Daisy was blackmailed into working with Carla. Something about an accident from Daisy's first job that she blamed herself for. She started to cause trouble, told Carla she wanted out. That's when they killed her." Lily just nodded sadly, letting Sam rest a hand on her leg.

"I never believed what they said about her. Daisy wouldn't have betrayed her country. When I heard about Michael I thought the same thing." She sighed softly and rested her head against Sam's shoulder.

"Why don't you go back to sleep." He suggested as she pulled back to look up at him. Brushing a few strands of stray hair away from her face he smiled at her. Slowly he leaned forward and pressed a kiss against her lips. However, like all aspects of their relationship, the kiss quickly deepened.

Lily would never understand why exactly, but even after so much time she felt weak in the knees when this man kissed her. She barely managed to suppress the shiver that coursed through her body when one of his hands found its way to the nape of her neck.

"Will you stay?" She asked when he pulled away, staying close enough to rest her hand on top of his.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm just gonna do another check downstairs first." He said, giving her a quick kiss before standing up.

Lily waited patiently while he disappeared into the dark hall. She moved to the other side of the bed, remembering Sam's preference for the right side. Although he used to make a joke that it didn't matter which side he was on, as long as she was in bed with him.

"All right." His voice shook her from her reverie. "That's taken care of." He left the door open a crack and started towards the bed.

"Sammy, close the door." She smiled as she leaned back into the pillows.

"Whatever you say baby." He replied with a grin, closing the door with a sharp click.

* * *

"This is not what I meant when I said you had to take me to dinner." Fi griped as Michael opened the bag of Mexican food. They had returned to his loft, eager to eat and go to bed after such a long day.

"I'm expecting a call, so it'll have to do for now."

"I'm always happy for a quiet moment with you, Michael." Fi smiled as she unwrapped a burrito. "So, what do you think will happen with Lily?"

"What d'you mean?" Michael asked, taking two beers from the fridge and opening both of them.

"Well, she's still married to Sam. The two clearly love each other still…" Fi paused before adding her obligatory, "although I can't understand why she would marry him in the first place."

"Yes you can." Michael replied simply, taking the seat next to her. "You know why they got married and you can understand why him."

"I know… if you tell Sam I will kill you." Fi threatened.

"I know you would." Michael laughed, kissing her forehead before taking a seat on the empty stool next to her.

* * *

"10 years… didn't miss a beat." Lily laughed as she cuddled up to Sam's side.

"I do what I can, baby." He replied, putting an arm around her shoulders. For a moment he paused, looking down at Lily who was resting her head against his shoulder. "So… what's the plan?"

"For?" Her eyes didn't open.

"Well, you came back to deal with Carla. That's done now." She tilted her head up and looked at him.

"I was only intending to be here for two weeks. Of course when I made those plans I thought that I would just come down, look for any information and leave… never expected to… we're still married."

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know." She admitted quietly.

"Do you want to stay?" He ventured carefully.

"Do you want me to stay?" Lily sat up so she could face him comfortably. "Sam, if we have another chance to be together I'll take it. But I'm not naïve, you have a life here, I have something vaguely resembling a life up north." She laughed softly, trying to make light. Sam paused, looking closely at her before leaning in for a kiss.

"I want you to stay." He murmured softly, kissing her again.

"I want to." She replied, climbing on top of him. "I really want to Sammy."

"You want to be married to me again?"

"I'm married to you still." She laughed, pulling away from the kiss and wrapping her arms around him as best she could with him on his back. His arms went around her, pulling her as close as possible.

"And you're okay with that?"

"Of course. Might be nice. Won't have to work all the time."

"I should tell ya, I'm still doing work."

"With Michael, I know." She shrugged. "You guys are helping people, why should that bother me."

"Will be nice to not have to lie about what I'm doing." He admitted, brushing a few strands of hair away from her face. "You could probably even help us out."

"Sure… so this is really happening?"

"It really is."

"I love you." She smiled, giving him another kiss.

"I love you too Lil."

"Fantastic, pull up the sheets I'm freezing." He laughed and reached for the comforter.

"You know blankets are highly overrated, there's only so much they can do. Yours truly on the other hand…"

"I lied the other day, you are a smooth one Sam Axe." She giggled.

"It's a gift."

"That it is. But you have to know when to use it."

"What d'you mean, baby?"

"Why are we still talking?"

With a laugh Sam kissed Lily again. Goodness knows that this wasn't going to be easy. Nothing with Sam was ever easy. Of course to be fair Lily could present complications of her own. But she knew that it was no accident that they found each other again. She always felt like things were unfinished. By some miracle a second chance arose. Not what Lily expected when she first booked that ticket for Miami. Every morning she would have to remind herself that she was awake and every night she would have to pinch herself, to make sure the day wasn't a dream. But she could live with that. Happily.

-----------------------------------------Fin---------------------------------------------------------------

So that's that. Thank you again for all the reviews and hanging in there during the long gaps. I'm toying around with writing the two years in Russia but not sure yet. I hope everyone enjoyed the story; I certainly loved writing it. Thanks again for reading.

--Sara


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